Class of '06
by sandragon13
Summary: Seventeen young men and women, strangers hailing from all over the world, are called together to combat the threat of a menace from beyond the stars. Featuring an all-OC cast, this ongoing project is the result of more than 7 years of work.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Meetings and Mysteries

A loud buzzing voice shattered the dusty warmth of the modest bedroom. On a bedside table, an alarm clock registering 9:00 in red digital numbers drones at an inhuman volume for the early hour. The raspy voice through the worn speaker speaks of the usual: mid-to-high 90's, low humidity; but static noise turns the report in to a hissing, incomprehensible buzz. From beneath the thin sheets, a girl's head emerged, thinking that the Ninjask are swarming again.

With great effort, she attempted to rouse her still-sleeping arm, which lay cold and powerless next to her from being pinned beneath her body. Fighting the pins and needles that racked her skin, she mustered the strength to draw the lifeless limb upwards, and urged it toward the screeching alarm clock. Roughly depressing the button and shutting off the alarm at last, she sat up and stretched the stiffness from her arms and shoulders. At the foot of her bed, a small foxlike creature with soft, russet fur shifted her paws and opened her brown eyes sleepily. The expression on her face seemed to question why her master was rising so early on a Saturday. The girl smiled; in the Vulpix's eyes, she could sense an intelligence beyond that of a mere house pet, beyond that of even some humans. She knows that something's up today, she thought to herself, something unusual and fresh. The vulpine Pokemon cocked her head while holding her gaze, and a playful sparkle crossed her eyes, as if in encouragement.

Ashley swung her feet to the creaky wooden floorboards of her attic room. The boards were pleasantly warm from the square of striped sunlight that filtered through the blinds. The red-haired girl glanced out the window, outside, the green lawns and rooftops of Forge Hill following the slope down to join the downtown district of Lavaridge Town. Turning from the window, Ashley strode toward her closet. The sun entering the room's other window struck the near-dozen trophies, medals, and ribbons shelved on the far wall, glimmering with gold and silver. Most were for soccer and track, including the big trophy from last year's regional meet. On any other Saturday, she and Mystic would have been heading to the meadow by the High School to play soccer before their shift at the Gym. Leader Flannery was herself a relative newcomer to the position of Gym Leader in Lavaridge, and only a few years older than Ashley herself. She and Mystic had worked in the Gym as apprentices under Flannery for about two years, getting accepted for the position on Ashley's 15th birthday. She walked to her desk and checked her phone, an impulsive action, and found no new messages waiting for her. Sliding the door open, Ashley peered into the shady closet. On the unusually sparse bar hung her favorite outfit, as she and her mom had prepared the night before. Most of the rest of her clothes, and belongings, sat by the door downstairs, packed away into luggage and marked with green tags for identification. Lost in her routine, Ashley realized that time was running short.

Snagging the outfit from its lonely hanger, she changed out of her sleepwear and began getting dressed. A black semi-elastic t-shirt, nondescript, was first, clinging tightly to her form. Atop that, her red collared shirt, her favorite garment since receiving it a few months ago as a birthday present. Her shorts were gray, reaching to her mid-thigh, and chosen for their comfort in the summer heat. Finally, she donned her somewhat worn brown boots, her footwear of choice, and headed for the stairs. Hurriedly she ran a brush through her medium-length red hair, glanced in the mirror as she reached the door, and tossed the brush onto the desk. As she went through the door, she grabbed her bag, red with black drawstrings, as Mystic loped lightly from the bed and padded softly after her.

Unsurprisingly for the hour, both of Ashley's parents were already at work, unable to leave their respective positions to see their only daughter off. She was happy to see, however, that a plate of leftover pancakes sat on the kitchen table, pinning down a piece of paper in an unsealed envelope. Ashley placed the plate in the microwave and picked up the letter. Her name was on the envelope, written in her mom's recognizable flowing script. "No time to read it now," she said to herself, and tossed the letter in her bag. As she bent to pour Pokechow into Mystic's bowl, the microwave beeped, giving off the pleasant smell that Ashley always associated with her kitchen in the morning. With a drizzle of syrup and a splash of Leppa juice, human and Pokemon tucked into their breakfasts, albeit at a slightly faster tempo than usual. Two pancakes remained of the original stack of five, but Ashley put them in the fridge. "We have to travel light, we still have a bike ride to make the train in Mauville." She regretted that the rail line didn't reach this far north, or even into Lavaridge Town proper, but at least the weather seemed to be cooperating. Though her luggage sat piled by the door in the living room, the letter she had received less than a month ago had insisted that its transport would not be an issue. Instead, she had merely been instructed that it be left outside her door upon her departure. Ashley glanced up at the Meowth clock on the wall as it waved its raised paw, and realized that she had lingered too long. "Hurry it up, Mystic, we've got to get going!"

"Vul! Pix!" came the reply, as she finished the last bits of Pokechow in her bowl. "Alright, Mystic, return," came the command, as she held out the fox Pokemon's ball. The Vulpix dissolved into an intangible shape of red light as it smiled, drawn into the red-and-white sphere as the ball's crimson laser faded. Automatically the softball-sized object reverted to the smaller, more travel-appropriate size, about the size of a lime, and Ashley clipped it to her belt. She stood and put her plate in the sink, and, slinging her bag over her shoulder, took a last look at the dwelling that had been home all her life. With a sigh, she strode to the door, pulled it open, and with some effort began hefting her bags over the threshold. Leaning against the plaster wall of the house, the bags looked remarkably out of place, but that was the instruction she had been given, and she had nothing else to go on. That task done, Ashley shut the door behind her and turned around the side of the house, where her bike stood chained to a bolt in the wall. She walked the bike back to the path that lead to the road, facing her home for a final time as it stood under the bright blue sky and brilliant summer sun. With a slight smile, Ashley jumped onto the bike and pedaled downhill, towards the pass the connected the area to Lavaridge, and from there, to the plains housing the bustling Metropolis of Mauville City.

As if on cue, as Ashley vanished over the crest of the hill on her bike, a man arrived at her house. His arrival was preceded by a burst of light, and stepped from the flash accompanied by a Kadabra. The figure was cloaked in a long overcoat and large-brimmed hat despite the tropical heat and summer sun, and reached into an inner pocket, withdrawing two Pokeballs. Releasing their contents, they revealed themselves to be a pair of Abra. The sleepy psi Pokemon each took a seat atop one of Ashley's three luggage pieces. The man, the Kadabra by his side, laid his gloved hand atop the final bag as the Kadabra closed its eyes. In a silvery flash muted by the beaming sunlight, and without so much as a sound, all of them; Pokemon, man and luggage, were gone.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Mauville Madness

The MagLev train terminal in Mauville City, like the city itself, is a bustling hub of activity, especially now, in the late morning. People and Pokemon of all sizes and descriptions can be found here, transferring from one terminal to another, to destinations on all ends of Hoenn. The unmistakable shape of the building, three hemispherical domes arranged in a triangle, gives it the appearance of a Magneton from above. The building has a very modern appearance, gleaming chrome handrails and plate-glass windows pouring in the rising sunlight. Evelyn had been here before, of course, because she had been born here in Mauville. She loved the energy of the place, how you could almost feel the electricity in the air. The 15-year-old reached up and readjusted her bandanna, took another look around the busy terminal. It had only taken her a few minutes to catch a cross-town bus to get here, she thought, where could those trainers be? Pulling the letter out of her pocket, she double-checked the location it listed.

"Yep, right here," she said to herself, "right in front of the Raichu statue."

Turning around, she gazed at the larger-than-life mouse Pokemon, carved of some yellowish stone in a dramatic pose. Immediately to the left of the statue, in a reflective chrome panel on the wall, she saw a tall figure dressed in a blue shirt and gray pants slow, turn, and begin to walk toward her.

The young man strode toward her on long legs, cautiously at first, as if reconsidering his action.

" 'Morning. My name's Del…is this the meeting place for the Acadamy?" He held out a large hand confidently.

Evelyn replied, somewhat warily, "Yeah, this is it. I'm Evelyn, by the way."

She held out her hand, considerably smaller than his. He took it and delivered a firm, but not painful, handshake. Both trainers took a seat on the bench beside the statue. They sat in silence for a few minutes, watching the crowds of people ebb through the station.

"So," Del said, breaking the awkward silence, "where are you from?"

Evelyn sighed. "I'm from right outside of Mauville, in the plains between here and Verdanturf. How about you?"

"Rustburo City's where I was born," Del replied, "but I spend a lot of time up in the mountains between there and Fallarbor." He looked at Evelyn, a kindness in his eyes. "I guess you could call me the outdoorsy type."

Evelyn smiled, and looked back toward the crowd. Del turned and looked out toward one of the large windows across the wide hall. Evelyn turned her gaze back towards Del, and got her first real good look at him. He was tall, and stocky, with long legs and large hands. He wore his gray hair in a gentle wave, complementing the color of his pants. He wore a blue short-sleeve shirt, the collar of which had a white insignia on it. A single pokeball was clipped to his belt. Under the glare of the lights above, Evelyn could see the scratches and chips in the red paint. Outdoorsy type indeed, she thought, but at least he's a trainer. She looked out the window, past the city, to the plains beyond. That was her home, a small farm where she lived and worked with her family. They raised all types of Pokemon there, along with several varieties of fruits and vegetables. She had helped raise a small herd of Mareep there, including her partner Rie. Her family would surely miss her help during the apple harvest in the fall, she thought to herself.

Amy's gold eyes shot rapidly around the sunny terminal, trying to find the Raichu statue. Again she unfolded the station map, tracing her route from the Northeast Terminal, where she had arrived, through the central atrium, along corridor "B", to where she stood, outside a pair of restrooms. I'm close, she thought, so very close. A flash of silver on the far side of the room caught her attention. Glancing over, she saw what she had been searching for: the stone Raichu statue. Beside it, two people, a guy and a girl, were talking to each other. Both wore blue shirts, of different shades. The female trainer's shirt had navy stripes, and she wore khaki pants. An azure bandanna was draped over her blonde hair. The young man was tall with gray hair, a dark blue shirt, and gray pants. This must be the place, Amy thought. She walked over towards the statue.

"Hi, is this the meeting place?"

"Yep," said the male trainer. "The name's Del." He held out a hand, and shook hers.

"I'm Evelyn," said the bandanna-bedecked girl, with a kind smile.

"My name's Amy, nice to meet you both. How long have you been waiting?"

Evelyn sighed, and replied, "I've been here an hour, but Del got here maybe 20 minutes ago."

"And we're still waiting on two others?"

"That's what the letter said," yawned Del, stretching his arms.

Amy reached into her bag and pulled out a bottle of water. Taking a sip, she looked at her companions. Nice enough people, she thought to herself, hoping they thought the same of her.

The three trainers sat on the bench and chatted, awaiting their two missing companions' arrivals.

"Are you all going to the Academy?"

The three teens turned, and standing before them was a girl with dark red hair, a red shirt, gray shorts, and long brown boots. Amy was the first to respond.

"Yep, that's us. My name's Amy."

Del and Evelyn similarly gave their names. The red-shirted girl introduced herself as Ashley, from Lavaridge Town.

Evelyn said, "I wonder when the last trainer will show up?"

As if heeding her question, one of the spotlights that illuminated the statue inexplicably went out. Everyone looked up at the extinguished bulb, and as their gaze fell back towards the floor, a black-clad figure stepped out of the darkness…


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Terminal Velocity

The shadows that shrouded the figure approaching them seemed to begin to peel away as it stepped closer to the light. His head was bowed, showing a mass of unruly brown hair. He was wearing a black leather jacket of some sort, over a red shirt. Silver headphones sat around his neck, the cord snaking its way down into his pocket. A pair of gray cargo pants and matching shoes completed the look. Finally the young man raised his head, and the other trainers beheld his face. He's handsome, Amy thought to herself. A strong-looking face was punctuated by his rather large, dark eyes, seeming bottomless in their murkiness. His jaw was set, his mouth a thin line. Finally he spoke, in a subdued, flowing voice: "My name's Chester."

The new arrival continued on, "I'm from Fallarbor Town, in the north of Hoenn. You all got letters too?"

"Yeah, we did", said Ashley, the first to speak. "I'm Ashley," she said, somewhat shyly.

"I'm Evelyn," said the bandana-wearing girl, "and this is Amy, and Del." Del looked around at this assembled group, wondering what had drawn them all here.

"We're all here then, I guess," he said with a stretch. The trainer stooped as he stood, a good few inches taller than Chester.

"Where do we go from here?" Amy said, reaching into her back pocket for the letter, in the same envelope that had been sent to each of the other trainers. Reading the typed print carefully, she reported to the others, "We have a train to catch."

The five trainers strode down the modern, chrome-and-glass terminal, towards the southernmost departure point in the massive complex. Amy was tracing their path with her finger on the station map, leading them toward terminal "L", destined for all stations in the southern portions of Mauville City, and ultimately, Slateport City. Their letters said to take this train to Slateport, where they would meet a ferry to Union Island, far off the southern coast.

Del, Amy, Evelyn, Ashley, and Chester boarded the high-speed, mag-lev train, jostling among the crowd of businessmen and families headed for Slateport's beautiful beaches, possibly envisioning a weekend of sun and relaxation by the water. The teenage quintet found seats in the bustling car, humming quietly down the gently curving track. Chester sat quietly to one side, listening to his headphones intently. Evelyn and Ashley discussed interests, as Del and Amy talked about their families. "Growing up on a farm," Evelyn said, looking out the window at the rapidly passing trees and low hills, "it taught me a lot about responsibility, working hard and respecting the environment." Ashley nodded in agreement. "Yeah, my mom and I grew a vegetable garden out behind our house. A lot of people in Lavaridge do it, because the volcanic soil's really good for growing plants..." Outside the car, a flock of Wingull soared in the warm breeze. "We must be getting close," Del said, trying to peer over the next hill. Suddenly the train crested the rise, giving a glimpse of the ocean, sparkling a sapphire blue in the midday sun. The yellowish beach ringed the water, a wide swath of sand stretching from the water to the line of shorefront buildings. The whole of the city lay before them, a truly breathtaking sight. On the right-hand side of the harbor, the huge stone pier stretched along the beach, providing ports for large ocean liners and tankers. Amy pointed at the massive structure, "That's where we need to go."

After some time the train pulled into the station in the center of town, flooded with tourists and vacationers. Evelyn lead the way, being most familiar with this seaside town. The flagstone streets were packed with people and bicyclists, along with dozens of Pokemon. The glass-sided buildings around them seemed to stretch upwards for miles, as Wingull and Swellow flitted between them. To one side, a sushi shop featured a chef and his Crawdaunt filleting pieces of fish before a crowd of tourists. A juggler and his Machoke passed a trio of Voltorbs between each other in front of a gaping audience. Street vendors displayed their wares on tables, laden with shells, sand from various locales around the world, and other objects.

Through the busy streets the five trainers kept moving, southward, towards the harbor. Finally, the skyscrapers gave way to the sea, and suddenly, they were on the Waterfront, Slateport City's famed seaside boardwalk. The boardwalk was surprisingly sparse for the time of day, but the beach beyond, however, was loaded with sunbathers. In the distance to their right, they could see the harbor, where huge oceangoing ships floated at anchor. "Let's get going, we have to be on the ship by 2," Del reminded the group, "and it's after 1 o'clock already." Chester took off his leather jacket, revealing a bright red teeshirt underneath. "It's hot," he remarked, moving his headphones to their position around his neck and squinted into the bright sunlight. "What am I doing here?" he thought to himself.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – A Fantastic Voyage

"This is the boat we have to take," Ashley said, turning back to the group. She motioned toward one of the medium-sized ships that were moored alongside the pier. Following her gaze, the others saw the ship she meant, a modern-looking, modest-sized craft, a white-and-blue paint job, and a gangplank extending to the dock. Numerous windows glinted in the sun, and a few sailors walked by on the decks. On its navy hull was a large, white "3". The starboard side of the boat featured the name "Seadra" in a flowing style. Amy checked her letter again. "The Seadra," she said, confidently. "This is it."

The five trainers clambered up the gangplank and stood for a second on the sunny deck. An older-looking gentleman, with a white moustache, approached them. He wore a short-sleeved button-down jacket, lined with brass buttons. It was open, revealing a gray shirt underneath. A dark-navy pair of slacks, torn at the bottom and matching his jacket, stopped above his black boots. He grinned, and said, in a calm, gravelly voice, "Good afternoon, can I help you kids?"

Del stepped forward, and pulled the letter from his pocket. "We received these letters, and we're supposed to meet a ship here to take us to Union Island."

The sailor took the letter from Del's extended hand and examined it carefully. His eyes reached the icon in the top-left corner of the page, and he seemed to recognize the symbol.

"Ah, very good. You all are headed for the Ironspine Acadamy?"

"We are," replied Del, satisfied that the sailor recognized the situation.

The man looked out over the gentle waves, as a flock of Pelipper swooped low over the surface. "Headed for the land of Otaru, then, are ye? Interesting place, that is." The trainers looked at each other, somewhat confused by his words. "Well," the sailor turned back to the crowd assembled before him. "I apologize for my manners before. My name is Captain Barnaby, and this here's the Seadra." He patted a side-rail, as if greeting an old friend. "I'm glad you lot showed up, I know somebody who'd be mighty upset if I came back without ye…" The captain turned and began walking toward the front of the craft. "I'll get the ship a-running, and I'll send Shamus down to show you to your chambers."

The group watched the people at work on the wharf, a Feraligatr helping a sailor load boxes onto another ship. The sound of footsteps behind them made them turn, as a sailor came around the corner. He was tall, younger than the captain, in a blue-and-white shirt with gray pants. Red hair sprouted from under his cap, and he wore a grin on his face. "'Ello everybody! M'name's Shamus. The cap'n sent me to show ya to yer quarters. Well come on, they're down this way."

He began striding down the deck, around the corner where he had come. The five trainers turned to each other, and followed the enthusiastic sailor. A few minutes later the group stood before a wall lined with doors.

"'ere we are, the visitor quarters. This's where you'll be stayin' tonight while we sail to Union Isle."

He reached into his pants pocket and produced a folded piece of paper. Unfolding the sheet, he began to read, "Ashley, you'll be in room #1, Del, room 2. Amy has room 3, Evelyn, room 4…" He readjusted the paper. "Chester, room 5 is yours." The five trainers each entered their rooms. All 5 were identical: Metal floor, modest beds, a desk with a lamp, the only window a porthole in the door. "Oh, and another thing," they heard Shamus say outside on the deck. Emerging from their rooms, the young sailor stood before the group. "You all are free to hang out on the deck…do whateva' your heart desires." With that, he turned and headed toward the bow of the ship. Four of the trainers headed toward the large open area on the stern. One, however, lagged behind, squinting at the sun.

Del, Amy, Ashley, and Evelyn headed to a wide sunny area on the deck at the back of the boat. The ship was on its way out to sea, the region of Hoenn a thin green line on the northern horizon. It was the height of summer, a pleasantly warm breeze was stirring off of the water. Leaning back against the rail, Ashley thought to herself that Mystic would enjoy this weather.

"You guys are all trainers, right?" she asked the three other teens.

"Yeah, we are," Evelyn replied. "I forgot! What Pokemon do you have?"

Everybody snapped a Pokeball off of their belt, and threw them into the air…


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – Tales of the Sea

"Come on out, Mystic!" shouted Ashley as she threw the gleaming cherry-and-white sphere into the air. It parted along a silver band that ran the equator of the ball, dividing the red and white halves. As it opened, a flash of red, digitalized energy emerged and settled on the ground. The burst of crimson quickly took the form of a small, four-legged creature. In a moment, the last of the energy materialized into full color, revealing a Vulpix. Standing a on four brown-tipped paws, the orange, foxlike Pokemon opened its large, expressive brown eyes and said happily, "Vul vul-pix!" Atop its head was a growth of russet fur, and it sported five gleaming coffee-colored tails that curled at the tips. "This is my partner, Mystic. She's been with me since she was a baby."

A second Pokeball was thrown into the air. As this one opened, it revealed a Taillow, a small birdlike Pokemon. It had a round head, pointed wings, and long tail feathers, a handsome dark blue with highlights of white and red. A large yellow beak sat below a pair of round eyes. The Taillow stretched its wings and hopped forward with a "Tail-low!"

"This is Spirit," Amy said. "I met her outside my window one day back home in Fortree. She liked the music I play, and we've been friends ever since."

Evelyn tossed forward the Pokeball in her hand with a grin. "My partner was born on my family's farm, near Mauville. Her brothers and sisters are back home, with my parents." The ball hit the ground and opened with a flash. The shape that materialized was large, and covered with lumps. It stood on four legs, with a long tail. Suddenly its true form emerged, and a thickly yellow-wooled sheep stood before them on four blue legs. "She's a Mareep, a Pokemon that roams wild in Johto, and can't be found here in Hoenn. Her name's Rie." Upon hearing her name, the Mareep waved her blue-and-black striped tail and cheerfully responded, "Mareeeeeep!"

"My turn," Del said, holding the scratched Pokeball in his hand. "I first met my partner in the mountains, on one of my camping trips. He helped me fight off a Fearow that was menacing my camp, and the bond that grew between us is strong." With that, he threw the sphere forward, revealing a round shape. The red light faded to a steely gray, marked with crags and chips, finally revealing itself as a Geodude. The Pokemon lifted a stony hand and waved in a friendly fashion to the other trainers, along with a "Dude, geo geodude!" "He goes by Slate," said Del, "and he's been my friend through many dangers."

"So you're a Fire trainer," Evelyn was saying to Ashley. "I should have guessed, coming from Lavaridge Town."

Ashley smiled. "Mystic and I train at the gym, with Flannery and the other junior trainers." She glanced at her partner, who seemed to be chatting to Evelyn's Mareep, Rie. "They're getting acquainted," she said, "just like we all are."

Looking around, Del and Slate were having an arm-wrestling contest, while Amy and Spirit cheered them on.

"Hey, where's Chester?" she asked Evelyn.

"I don't know," the girl responded, "I haven't seen him since we left the rooms."

Sitting in his room with his headphones on, Chester lay on his bed, in a state of calm relaxation. He had been watching the round pool of sunlight pouring through the small porthole window in the door move slowly across the floor as the sun moved westward. Beside him on the desk sat a single Pokeball, along with his Pokedex and papers from the morning. His jacket was draped over the desk's wooden chair. How did I get roped into this mess, he thought to himself. I'm not much of a trainer. I'm not a great student. What sets me apart from all the other trainers? The song ended, and the assault on his ears momentarily paused. In that brief two-second gap of silence, he heard a metallic banging, echoing through the room. Three raps, and a shape eclipsed the light pool on his floor. He glanced upward, pausing the player that lay on his chest. Slowly he sat up, feeling the stiffness in his legs as he extended them to the floor. At length he stood up, and slowly walked to the door. He reached out, turned the handle, and opened the door.

The glare of the afternoon sunlight stabbed into his eyes, squinting as he tried to identify his visitor. Gradually he saw it to be Evelyn, the bandanna-wearing girl. She said, "We're getting to know each other, and we wanted to know if you'd join us." Shifting uncomfortably on her feet, Chester blinked in the brightness, sighed, and said calmly, "Alright, I'll be out in a moment." Evelyn gave him a slight grin, turned, and walked back toward the aft end of the ship. Chester's eyes looked toward the blue ocean beyond the guardrail, wondering what might await him in the coming months. He turned back into his room, grabbing the solitary Pokeball that sat upon the desk, and shut the door behind him.

The sun was falling slowly toward the western horizon. On all sides, any sign of land was lost, only endless stretches of sea. The captain had reported an hour ago that they had passed the midpoint of their voyage, and would make landfall at Union Island late tomorrow morning. Del, Amy, Evelyn, Ashley, and their Pokemon talked amongst themselves, asking about families and school. Suddenly, a red-shirted figure emerged from the direction of the bow. The four trainers turned, both excited and unsure at the same time. Chester slowly walked toward the group of people and Pokemon, not sure how to present himself.

"Hey, Chester," said Amy, a Taillow sitting on her shoulder.

"Hey everybody…I guess you want to see my partner too?"

He plucked a Pokeball off of his belt, the red paint glinting in the afternoon sun. After a moment, he tossed the ball into the air, as it split open and poured out a red flash…


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 – Night at Sea

As the red-shrouded form materialized, it seemed to darken sharply in color. It was avian in structure, standing low to the ground.. Finally the crimson energy dissipated, and revealed the Pokemon's true identity. It was a Murkrow, the mischievous Darkness Pokemon said to lead travelers astray in mountains. This one, however, bore a stern look on its face, and its scarlet eyes reflected a glare of sheer determination. The Murkrow's dusky plumage gleamed in the late afternoon sun, as it stood upon the deck before its master.

"His name is Shadow," said Chester, looking around the assembled group of trainers and Pokemon. "I caught him in the wilds of the ash-covered forests near Fallarbor…He is…different, somehow, from other Pokemon."

The dark bird turned, ruby eyes flashing in the slanting rays of the failing sun. Amy looked down, and was surprised to see Spirit hiding itself behind her legs. The Taillow looked warily at Shadow, who was glancing heatedly at the people around it.

The sun pierced the horizon, as the boat's azure hull plowed its way through the gentle waves. Dawn had just broken, a bright yellow disk on the eastern horizon, invading a clear blue sky. The five trainers lay in their beds, awaiting the inevitable call. Then, without warning, a voice over the crackling loudspeaker, inhumanly loud at such an early hour: "Land ho! Union Island at 1:00 off of the port bow!"

Amy was the first to the bow, ever the early riser. Spirit, chirping happily, was perched on her shoulder. From her vantage point she could see the green-and-gray strip of land to the south, their destination at last. Gradually, the other trainers emerged, bedraggled and still half-asleep, to gaze upon the coastline of Union Island. Evelyn carefully tied her navy bandanna over her dirty-blond hair as she observed the emerald coast, their long-awaited port-of-call, where they were to meet two other ships arriving from two other regions. She smiled, and said to herself, "There it is…time to see if dreams do come true."

Del held a hand to his brow, shielding his eyes from the rays of the golden dawn. A look of confidence crossed his face, excited for this chance to test himself. Ashley yawned, but was inwardly excited, wondering what new people and places she might meet on her journey. Chester stood to the side, staring over the rail at the line of land on the horizon. Evelyn walked over to him, taking a place beside him on the rail. "Are you excited too, to finally make land, and meet those other trainers?" The young man turned toward her, then back to the horizon. His dark eyes flashed as they caught the sun, and Evelyn glimpsed some sort of hidden emotion in that split second.

"I don't know how I feel about it, or this whole thing. I never wanted this life…but now that I have it, I have no choice but to live it." Determination flashed in his eyes. "Nothing will get in my way."

At 11:23 AM, the S.S. Seadra dropped anchor at Union Island, a crescent-shaped atoll roughly in the center of the Great Sea, linking the five great regions of Hoenn, Johto, Sinnoh, Kanto, and Otaru. This island was colonized centuries ago as a trading outpost, and used by pirates as a cache. Now, however, it is used as a refueling station for seafaring tankers and ferries, and is a meeting place for people of all regions. The five Hoenn trainers disembarked, thanking Captain Barnaby and the crew for their service, and stood on one of the busy wharfs that lined the coast of the island. For miles in both directions along the gently-outcurving coast, boats of all sizes and descriptions floated at anchor in the dark blue water.

"According to the letter," Del said, paper in hand, "we have to cross the island to get to the southern coast, meet up with the two other groups of trainers, and board another ship by 3, that'll take us to Otaru's west coast."

Ashley looked down the pier, through the bustling crowd that milled through the seaport.

"We should get going, it's nearly noon now, and we have to cross the island, through this crowd, and track down two other groups before 3:00."

As Wingull wheeled in the sunny sky above, Del, Ashley, Evelyn, Amy, and Chester strode down the flagstone avenues and across plazas with benches and fountains. They passed a large open area, where a sailor's Poliwhirl grappled with another's Golduck. Guided by the compass function of the Pokedex, Evelyn maintained a steady southern route through the heart of the town, lined with stores and hotels. Finally, through the buildings before them, Del could see the sea sparkling under the afternoon sun. They had only a few more blocks before the land gave way to sea. As they reached the corner of Vermillion Street and Tajiri Avenue, however, they caught sight of a large group of trainers, just like them, heading toward the southern seaport.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 – Encounters

"Hey, everyone, look!" Evelyn said, excitement building in her voice. She pointed across the busy street, where a group of young people walked toward the southern waterfront. Peering through the rushing traffic, she could discern six of them, walking in a line toward the sea. "I bet they're one of the other groups that we have to meet up with!"

"You're probably right," Del said, "now we just have to get across the street."

Eventually the light flashed the walking-man signal, the traffic flow slowed to a stop, and the Hoenn trainers traversed the six-lane thoroughfare. By the time they reached the far corner, the other group had vanished into the seaside crowds.

Like the opposite coast of the island, this one was lined with piers and ships that floated at anchor. Waves lapped against the steel-and-cement wharfs, and fishermen cast their lines over the rail, into the warm sea.

"What's the name of the ship we're to take?" asked Ashley, looking down the harbor at the dozens of ships being loaded and unloaded.

"Fury of the Storm", replied Evelyn, "Sounds dangerous."

Amy turned and said, "If we find the ship, we'll find that other group."

Evelyn glanced down both ends of the waterfront. "Let's head that way first," she said, pointing east. "We're closer to that end, so it'll be less of a distance if we have to backtrack."

Down to the east edge of Union Island, the group made its way through the seaport crowds, people and Pokemon bringing boxes onto and off of ships. Finally they reached the east end of the harbor, marked with a stone statue of a Kingdra. The stone Dragon Pokemon leered down at the five trainers, frozen in a stoic gaze.

"Well," said Del, "I guess we have to head back west, and find that ship."

Reluctantly they turned, and began walking back. A pair of Machokes hefted a pallet of crates onto a ship as they passed, as their trainer directed their movements. A uniformed officer, a Growlithe by his side, strolled along the far side of the shipyard, eyes peeled for any suspicious activity. Gradually, the group made their way down the waterfront, the afternoon sun beating down. As they passed a large stack of Poke-Chow crates, they found themselves face-to-face with the group of trainers they saw on the street.

Both groups seemed to recoil slightly, the sensation of shock instantaneous. There were six of them, sitting on the stacked crates, various types of bags and purses at their sides. Eleven pairs of eyes quickly scanned the new arrivals, a beat of awkward silence. To the extreme left sat a handsome boy dressed in a red-and-white short-sleeve shirt and gray pants, with a blue beanie on his head, despite the tropical heat. Next to him sat a pretty blonde-haired girl in a pink shirt and lavender skirt, with fashionable sandals on her feet. To her side was a young man in a dark red-pinstriped, zip-up shirt, cargo pants, with an electric blue mohawk. To his right, a tall, lanky boy with blue hair, glasses, a white shirt, and khakis looked back at them. Next sat a boy with spiky blond hair, an orange shirt, and torn blue jeans, with a peculiar look on his face. To the far right, a girl in a gray shirt and whitish skirt huddled in a shadow, somewhat removed from the rest of the group. She silently raised her head and looked hard at Chester, emotional lavender eyes locking with his.

Finally the silence was broken, as Del stepped forward from the group. "I guess you all are headed for the Academy too?"

An assortment of nods came from the other group. "Well, then we'd better get acquainted. My name's Del, from Rustboro City."

First to stand was the young man with the bright-blue mohawk and intense expression.

"My name's James, I'm from Blackthorn City."

The two teenagers shook hands, never breaking eye contact. Around the circle of assembled teens, the introductions came fourth. The kid with the hat was named Alex, from Mahogany Town. Strapped to the backpack by his seat was a snowboard, painted blue, black, and silver. The attractive girl in pink stepped forward next, surprisingly tall on long legs. Her name was Courtney, she said, from Goldenrod City. The stocky guy with the torn jeans and enthusiastic expression went by Ed, from the island city of Cianwood. The lean, blue-haired boy introduced himself as Nathan, from Azalea Town. He spoke in a calm manner, and his dark-green eyes flashed a deep underlying intelligence as he spoke. Finally, the girl in the pale skirt, who had been observing all the introductions from her perch in the shadow of the crate pile, turned toward the assembled group, and raised her gentle-looking face. The 10 trainers all stood before her, watching, not knowing what to expect. Finally, in a barely audible, fragile-sounding voice, she spoke.

"My name…my name is Vanessa. My home is Ecruteak City, in the shadow of the ancient Towers. I..don't talk much…and..I like to be alone."

This being said, she sank back into the shadow of the crates, slumping against the wooden panel as if fatigued from her address. Chester's gaze remained on the girl's muted form for several seconds, as he leaned back against a heavy cask of MooMoo Milk, grateful for the cool steel's touch.

Gradually the introductions elevated to polite conversation, members of the Hoenn group getting to know the Johto team. They revealed that the ship they sought, the "Fury of the Storm," was on the other side of these crates, floating at anchor directly ahead. The Johto group had arrived here around noon, and had been waiting for the other two groups to arrive in the shade of this stack of crates. With less than an hour before they were to board and set sail for Otaru, the 11 trainers had no sign of the Kanto group. As the heat of the day hit its peak, the shadow of the crate pile gave well-received relief. Tirelessly the dock workers and sailors around them continued on their way with little regard to the humidity and heat. Through the sparse crowd and rippling heat haze that was the far end of the waterfront, however, a form began to appear, drawing nearer to the assembled trainers.


	8. Chapter 8

Kanto: Summer, Brian, Oliver, Trevor, Megan, Vince

Chapter 8 – Fury of the Storm

A shape slowly made its way toward the trainers, obscured as it was by the warping, flowing effect of the heat on the hot cement wharf. At first the silhouette approaching them mingled with the crowd, sailors and dock hands busily going about their trade. Only as the proximity between them shrank to a few yards did the form reveal itself to be six young people, walking together down the pier. Each of the Hoenn and Johto trainers looked up at the group, instantly recognizing them as the six they were waiting for, the travelers from Kanto.

Finally the sextet of teens reached the shadow-strewn pile of crates and saw the eleven other young people watching them approach. A young man, dressed in khaki pants and a gray sleeveless shirt, stepped forward with a cocky smile.

"You all must be the other trainers," he said, more than a hint of brashness in his voice. "My name's Trevor," he said, brushing his silvery hair from his eyes with his hand, "from Pewter City."

The impetuous young man's eyes swept the assembled crowd, pausing slightly as he passed Courtney. As he reached Alex, he realized that the red-shirted boy was already sending him a searing gaze, an unspoken statement made clear to both young men.

A girl stepped forward next, well-tanned and dressed in a blue-and-white pokeball-pattered wrap and matching bathing suit top. An azure barrette sat in her blonde hair, strands of which veiled her sparkling sapphire eyes. "I'm Summer, from Vermillion City," she said with a gentle smile and a casual wave.

The next person jumped out from behind a crate, surprisingly short in stature. He had a stock of short, greenish-blue hair, a mischievous smile, and seemed to be wearing some sort of ninja garment, a full-body suit woven of a dark material. The plucky lad looked up at the other trainers with confidence. "The name's Oliver," he said, a red piece of torn fabric waving behind him in the sea breeze. "I'm only 12, but that doesn't mean that you can underestimate me." He grinned, inwardly unsure if his plan had worked.

The next girl came forward, wearing a dark shirt with long sleeves rolled up to the elbows. On her legs she wore a pair of purple stockings, despite the heat. She wore earrings, visible behind her inky-blue hair. "I'm Megan, from Saffron City." Her bright-violet eyes flashed a sense of playful contentment, visible for only the briefest moment.

Another young man, leaning against the wall of crates, lifted his head to speak. Dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a black short-sleeved shirt, he had his arms crossed over his chest. "Vince," he began, "from Viridian City." His eyes remained closed as he spoke, his dark hair shimmering in the sun. A momentary silence fell over the group, until another boy stepped forward. He wore a gray shirt, green cargo pants, and auburn hiking boots. A dark brown coat hung over his arm. "My name is Brian," he said, his voice somewhat quiet, hesitant. "I'm from Celedon City." With that, he stepped back again, away from the group.

Just as Brian finished his brief introduction, a sharp boat whistle screeched on the other side of the crates.

"Our ship must be ready," said Del as he stood, hoisting his backpack over his shoulder. Finally, thought Trevor. He was anxious to get to the school. Ironspine Acadamy will never know what hit it, he thought to himself.

As the group of now 17 trainers walked back out into the blazing tropical sunlight, they realized that a wooden gangplank now extended from the pier to the ship's deck. Fury of the Storm was painted on the azure stern of the vessel, which measured some 50 feet from end to end. Gradually the large group walked up the board, massing on the deck of the proud ship. A large block of doors and hatches lined the walls that extended down the deck, and white-suited sailors went about their duties. As the group stood on the deck, a young, uniformed officer rounded the corner to greet them.

"Welcome to the Fury of the Storm. My name's Captain Keith, and I command this vessel. I presume that you all are on your way to Ironspine Acadamy?"

"We are," said Del, extending a hand towards the dark-haired officer.

"We depart for Ironspine City in 15 minutes, and are due to arrive before noon tomorrow. If you would follow me, I'll show you to your quarters."

The group descended a spiraling metal staircase to a hallway below the deck, the inner wall of which was lined with doors. "These will serve as your quarters during the voyage. There are enough for each of you to have your own. Feel free to explore the ship, but the engine room and bridge are off-limits." With that, he spun on his heel and made his way back down the hall.

A few minutes later, the trainers had gathered on the stern, watching as the ship steamed southward, headed for the region of Otaru. Dusk gathered slowly around the boat, its lights struggling to pierce the utter gloom of the ocean at night. Looking over the side, Amy could see spots of light, red and yellow, flickering beneath the waves.

"Look, what's that? There's colored lights in the water!" She pointed at the twinkling dots of incandescent color.

Summer walked over and took a look for herself. "They're Pokemon," she replied, smiling at Amy. "Back home in Vermillion, we see these a lot. The yellow lights are Chinchou and Lanturn, aquatic Pokemon that use light to send messages to each other in the dark ocean. The red ones are from Staryu, beating in the same rhythm as a human heartbeat."

"That's so cool!" said Amy, watching the spots of color blinking against the darkness of the ocean. A large flash of color, shining a bright crimson under the water, suddenly caught her eye. "Hey Summer," Amy asked, nervously. "What's that?"

Suddenly, a harsh blast rocked the ship, knocking everyone off their feet. A series of waves, caused by the shock, tore away from the boat, off into the darkness beyond the light's reach. The young trainers struggled to their feet, supporting themselves against rails and walls.

"What was that!?" shouted Alex, staggering as the boat pitched sharply to one side.

"I don't know! Did we hit a reef or something?" Trevor yelled back, on one knee on the deck. Captain Keith ran out onto the deck, franticly glancing around at the trainers.

"That was no reef that just hit us, we're out in the deep ocean…We're under attack."

"By who...or what?" said Del, concern crossing his face.

"I have no idea, but so long as we're here, we could get hit again." Whipping a walkie-talkie from his hip, he shouted into it, "Attention bridge, this is Keith. Get us out of here, and make headway for Otaru!" A crackling response sent a wave of emotion across the young captain's face.

"What did he say?" Del asked.

Captain Keith was silent for a moment. "They have found out what's attacking us.." Another jolting blast tore through the ship, pitching the vessel dangerously far. "The King Tentacruel."

As if in response to the statement, the water before them began to swell, rising more than a dozen feet out of the water and towering over the ship. The seawater began to pull back, flowing off of the creature's slick, blue skin. Twin bulbous red orbs shone with a crimson light from atop the beast's head. Beneath the fold of its pulsating mantle, two large white eyes glared angrily down at them, devoid of any compassion for those on the boat. A seemingly endless array of brownish tentacles stretched from beneath its flattened, round body, into the water and the air. A huge pincer-like appendage sprouted from its underside, snapping in the air. It appeared to be a gigantic specimen of the Pokemon species Tentacruel, but this one's body appeared to be crisscrossed with scars from many battles. The beast bellowed, an unearthly sound at the same time sharp and resonating, as the water dripped from its body.

As the trainers stared in terror at the manifestation before them, Keith shouted to them, "The King Tentacruel is a monstrous Pokemon, legendary in these warm tropical waters. It's only been heard about in myth, sailors speak of it as a bringer of destruction. It is said to attack all those who enter its territory, dragging ships down to the crushing abyss!"

A flash of lightning tore through the sky above, arcing through the clouds that filled the sky. As the resulting thunder rumbled, the beast roared again, lifting a pair of slender tentacles and preparing to strike the ship.

"Everybody, run! It's going to attack!" shouted Keith, as he yelled instructions into his radio. Rain began to fall in sheets, falling hard and fast onto the wooden deck. The giant Tentacruel swung its writhing arms at the scattering trainers as they struggled to dodge the onslaught. Rainwater lashed the deck, making it slick and difficult to gain traction.

"We can't escape it!" yelled Trevor, jumping over a swinging tentacle.

"He's right!" shouted James, "If we run, it can just sink the ship! But how can we do anything against…that?!"

A piercing scream tore across the deck, as the monstrous jellyfish Pokemon wrapped a tentacle around Courtney and hefted her into the air.

"No, Courtney!" shouted Alex and Trevor, nearly in unison. The two boys sent identical glares at one another, and rushed toward the beast.

"My Pokemon is useless against this foe," Trevor admitted. "Mine is too," shouted Alex, "so we'll have to make do without them!" He picked up a pair of brooms, and tossed one to Trevor. "We'll have to beat it into submission!"

The two boys charged toward the King Tentacruel, swinging their brooms to knock the tentacles aside. Both made it within striking distance of the beast's body, and tried to swing at the monster. The monster opened its pincer-like mouth and fired a strong torrent of water at the trainers, knocking them off of their feet and back into the wall behind them.

"There's nothing we can do!" Trevor said angrily, pounding his fist into the steel wall.

The beast roared, as Courtney screamed in its grasp. A huge bolt of lightning crackled on the horizon, lighting up the sky for a brief moment, an electric blue flash beneath the gray clouds. Suddenly, a shadow emerged from the far side of the ship, a tall figure shrouded in a dark cloak. The hooded figure had its back to the trainers, clustered against the wall of the ship, standing between them and the beastly Pokemon. The King Tentacruel bellowed, a piercing screech and echoing roar in one harsh sound. Even in the driving rain, the figure didn't flinch. It appeared to reach inside its cloak and withdraw two Pokeballs. Extending each ball on cloaked arms, each released a Pokemon into the turbulent water. Only as the Pokemon's tails disappeared beneath the waves did they fully materialize. Again, the thunder roared, and lightning cracked the sky. Finally two Pokemon burst forth from the rough water, a Gyarados and a Milotic, one on each side of the ship. The two serpentine Pokemon glared at the King Tentacruel, awaiting their master's command. A voice, clear and firm, came from the figure. "Go, my Pokemon. You know what to do."

Instantly, the two Pokemon reared out of the water. The Milotic, pink fins flaring, fired a whitish-blue beam from the horn on its head, as its red eyes flashed. Simultaneously, the Gyarados roared and released a powerful electric charge from its body, sending the yellowish current arching through the air. The two attacks struck the Tentacruel with synchronized precision, causing the beast to cry out in pain. Losing its grip on Courtney, the girl slipped from its grasp and collapsed on the deck. Alex and Trevor rushed out and help to carry her to safety. The King Tentacruel screeched as the simultaneous, devastating attack sharply weakened it. Finally, its massive body ebbed, and sank beneath the waves, having clearly gotten the message. The mysterious, cloaked figure extended its arms again, and recalled the two Pokemon. In the same motion, it sent out another, which materialized into a green, dragonlike Pokemon with large red eyes and diamond-shaped wings. "Who…who are you?" asked Del, in awe of what he had just beheld. The cloaked figure seemed to pause for a second, then climbed onto the Pokemon's back and took off, soaring over the waves and up into the sky, towards the distant horizon.

The storm was over, as the clouds broke overhead and the sunlight began to stream down. Captain Keith announced over the P.A. system that the King Tentacruel had done no serious harm to the ship, and that the coast of Otaru was visible on the southern horizon. The trainers went to the rail, and could see the thin line of green near the curve of the earth. That trainer, Chester thought to himself, he flew toward Otaru as well. He looked around, at the excited, disheveled and rain-soaked trainers around him. And so it begins, he thought to himself.

-sandragon13


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 – "Like never since, like never before."

The _Fury of the Storm_ cruised around the north-western coast of Otaru, navigating through a maze of reefs and coral islands backed by the emerald shore and azure sky. The ever-present tropical sun beat down on the deck, despite the early hour. The ship was abuzz with activity, as the young trainers collected their belongings from their cabins. On everyone's mind was last night's encounter with the King Tentacruel, the storm, and the mysterious figure who defeated the monster. Their destination, Ironspine Academy, was located in the wilderness beyond Ironspine City, a city on the western coast of Otaru. The city sat on a terraced mountainside, stretching from the sea to the ridge of gray stone high above, said one of the sailors. The far side of the ridge, towards the interior of the continent, was some manner of thick jungle, punctuated with steep hills, cliffs, and ravines. The base of the mountain terminated in low foothills, vanishing into plains and savanna. Beyond that, the young sailor had said, he had never ventured.

As the sun rose higher, the coastline of Otaru revealed a city, green-and-gray on a rise of stone. The ship sailed into the calm waters, entering the mountain's vast shadow as it stretched over the sea. For a brief moment, the sun rimmed the ridge's peak in gold, shimmering in all directions. As the vessel approached a row of cement docks that lined the shore, figures became visible at work on the wharf. People and Pokemon, working side by side, using their skills to haul equipment, lay cement, and load crates onto waiting ships. Captain Keith stood behind the trainers as they assembled by the rail, each taking in their first good view of Otaru's Ironspine City. The young captain removed his white hat and wiped the sweat from his brow, glad to have brought this group to the port safely. He had completed his duty soundly, but he knew who had helped save the ship from the King Tentacruel. These kids, he thought to himself, they are the key.

Disembarking at the seaside dock, the trainers turned and waved goodbye to Captain Keith as the _Fury of the Storm_ turned to head back out to sea. Turning toward the city, they gathered around Del, who held the map wide before him. "Looks like we have to head straight up the ridge," said Trevor, tracing his finger up a main avenue that raced up towards the summit. "According to this, there's a Pokemon Gym in this town, it's up at the top of the mountain too." "Once we get up there," said Alex, adjusting his beanie, "we have to go back down the other side, out of the city."

"And into the jungle," said Brian, normally quiet, but now interested in the journey. It'll be good to get out of the city, he thought, and into the shade of the trees.

"We should be at the Academy by this time tomorrow," said Ashley, "at least that's what the Captain said. We just have to follow this road."

Minutes later, the group stood in the shadow of the mountain, staring up at the steeply-graded road before them. The city, arranged on great step-like swaths of rock carved into the mountainside, rose up before them, framed by the clear tropical sky.

"Straight up this road," said James, "straight up is right."

"It's not that bad," said Del confidently.

"Yeah, we can do this," said Alex, glancing back toward the group. "We just have to get moving. Onward and upward!" The seventeen trainers began the long trek upward, through neighborhoods of stone-and-steel buildings, punctuated by trees with blackish bark. They marched, some in single file, some in pairs, level cross streets the only relief from the relentless ascension. Near the summit they traversed an ornate flagstone bridge, crossing a river flowing down from the mountain's peak. Finally, they approached the zenith of the great ridge, barren and rocky save for a few stone buildings. On the far side, they could see the path snake into the mass of green treetops stretching into the distance as the hill receded away, and beyond, a great sandy plain.

Standing at this apex, the seventeen trainers could see the rooftops of the great city below them, falling toward the sea. The sun had begun to descend as well, blazing orange as it sank toward the sea. Within minutes they had scattered around the desolate mountaintop, taking in the views and resting their aching legs. Ashley, Amy, and Evelyn sat at a stone table near a cluster of buildings, talking. Courtney, Alex, and Trevor sat together, the two boys shooting glances at one another. Del and Ed were taking turns hurling rocks and sticks into the trees far below, occasionally sending a flock of Taillow or Pidgey screeching into the sky. Summer gazed out at the sea, sparkling gold beneath the setting sun. Oliver, Nate, and Brian looked out over the trees, speaking of their pasts to one another. James sat alone, as did Vince, both young men silently watching the group. Megan quietly rested near a building. Chester, wandering around the edges of the forest, heard a hushed noise from a nearby building. Turning sharply, he saw the quiet girl, Vanessa, reclined against a shaded stone wall. He wouldn't have seen her had she stayed silent. She glanced upward as he approached, shoes crunching on the rocky earth. Even in the shady darkness, her eyes seemed to radiate emotion, nearly fluid in their clarity. "Sorry if I startled you," he said, slowly walking toward the girl. Why is she separate from the group, he wondered to himself. Why is she hiding in the darkness? Vanessa gave no response, but she sat up straighter, still leaning against the cool stone. Her face gave no expression of contempt, but not one of acceptance either. Chester took another step toward her. "Why are you over here, in the shadows?" A flash, some unreadable flicker, passed through the girl's eyes. She closed her eyes, and turned away from him. "I do so both by choice," she said quietly, without looking up, "and by necessity."

Captain Keith stood atop the bridge of the _Fury of the Storm_, gazing back at his last glimpse of the city. Shading his eyes with his hand, he remembered what he had been told, weeks earlier. "Like never before," he told himself, as the gray city vanished over the horizon. "And like never since."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10 – Jungle Jinx

Vanessa lowered her gaze, leaning her head back against the chipped stone wall. Chester mind was fervent with questions: "Both by choice, and by necessity?" What could that mean? What…

"You're probably wondering what I meant by that…" Vanessa began. "I was born in Ecruteak City, a place famous for its long history, and for the two Towers that exist there. The Burned Tower, to the west of town, was once the roost of a powerful legendary Pokemon. Long ago, however, the tower was set ablaze and was destroyed. The sections of the tower that still stand are home to Ghost Pokemon now, attracted by the sense of loss and violence that occurred there."

"I've heard that story before," Chester said, staring up into the cloudless night sky high above. "In school we did research on a historical site outside of Hoenn. I chose Ecruteak City for its dark history, the site of many events that changed the Johto region and inspired change around the world."

The violet-eyed girl nodded gently. "My family's home was near the Burned Tower, its great shadow swinging over our house every day as the sun rose and fell. One day, however, when I was very young, I strayed from my yard and made my way up to the tower. I found a way in, and wandered around inside. The walls were scorched black with marks from the great fire; there were broken beams and rubble everywhere. Suddenly, the floor gave way beneath me, and I fell down into some sort of underground room. The darkness down there…was absolute. No night has ever been so dark. In shock, I was scared for my life. Then, without warning, the room began to illuminate, dozens of small bluish flames bursting into spontaneous life. The flickering wisps grew closer around me, and in the darkness beyond I could see shapes, shadows that moved with incorporeal motion. Slowly they revealed themselves, the Ghost Pokemon that took up residence in the tower. There were some there, species that I had never seen before. I stood before them, in the pure blackness of the basement, the dancing azure flames floating around me. I was…no longer afraid…I sensed a security in these Pokemon. They meant me no harm…rather, they seemed to understand me, and I them. There was a Gengar, who seemed to be their leader, lifted me back up through the hole to the ground floor. The bright sun shone through the ruined building, and I made my way back down the hill to my home."

Chester, who had taken a seat leaning against an opposite wall, was amazed with what he had heard. "For years after that day," Vanessa continued, "I snuck back into the tower when I could spare the time, and spent time with the Ghosts. Even though they are Pokemon, I felt that they could understand me better than any human could. As I grew, however, I noticed that I began to burn easily when I was exposed to the sun, and that the heat of the day sapped my strength. I had never been that way before. The Ghost Pokemons' influence seemed to cause change within me. The more I grew, the more this proved true. I became withdrawn, quiet, fleeting. I couldn't bear long periods in the sun. I became…as a Ghost myself."

Vanessa wiped a tear from her eye, and reached to her side, where a gray bag sat. She withdrew a Pokeball, and opened it. The reddish form gradually took shape, with a bulging head punctuated with a hornlike structure, large bluish eyes, and wispy body. "This is Fallen," she said softly. The Shuppet floated silently beside her, wide eyes watching her trainer. "One day around the time I turned 13, I returned to the tower. A Shuppet that had made its way to Johto from Hoenn was injured, and the resident Pokemon were attempting to heal it. It was clear to me that if this Pokemon wasn't cared for properly, she wouldn't make it. I took her, wrapped in cloth to protect her from the sun, and ran into town to the Pokemon Center. For hours the nurses cared for her, as I wept, fearing I had been too late. Finally, the doors opened, and the Shuppet was wheeled out. She would be fine, the nurse said, but she won't last in the wild. Our eyes locked, and I knew that this is what would be best for the Shuppet." She sighed, and finished, "Fallen and I share a spiritual bond…she's my best friend."

Vanessa looked up from the ground, raising her gaze to meet Chester's. "I keep to the shadows, as much as I can, because it causes me pain to stay in the sun for too long. It drains me of my strength. But I also enjoy their embrace, because…I'm not good at talking to people."

Chester replied, "Then why did you tell me all this just now?"

"I…I can sense…some of the same darkness that dwells within me, I can see it in you as well. I feel you are one of the few in this group who can understand me, though I hardly know you."

Chester looked up at the sky again. "I…"

"Hey everybody!" came a sudden shout from the woods, "come and check this out!"

At the sound, the group snapped to attention, eyes drawn to the woods that shrouded one side of their makeshift campsite. Oliver, the boy in the ninja outfit, came running out, pointing back excitedly. Del stood and shouted at the boy, "What, what is it?" His hand instinctively reached for the pokeball on his belt.

"It's a building," the boy said, "a real one, not all ruined and stuff. It has windows, and fountains…"

"Lead us to it," James said, jumping down from a rock.

"OK, follow me," said Oliver, motioning into the woods. The rest of the group followed, up a slight incline, on the narrow ridge. Finally, they broke the tree line, and there in a clearing was a large building hewn of the same whitish stone as the buildings in the upper echelons of the town below.

"There's a sign here," said Trevor, pointing at a flat-sided rock near the edge of the clearing. "Ironspine City Pokemon Gym."

Looking around, the group realized that the clearing in which the gym sat was in fact a stone precipice overhanging the edge of the cliff and overlooking the trees of the forest below. The courtyard where they stood was made of stone, but had been overgrown with grasses and weeds thriving in the summer sun. A pair of fountains stood before the entrance, flowing fourth into stone basins. The building itself was tall, and wide windows lined its upper walls. A set of double doors stood at its base, thick and carved of some dark wood. Alex walked near the building's edge, and tested the doors. They were locked securely, not surprisingly.

"So there _is_ a Gym here," James said, eying the ominous structure looming above him. "Too bad the leader's not here, otherwise I'd challenge him to a battle for a badge."

"We should head back to the campsite and get settled down for the night," Del said. "It's getting dark, and I don't feel like getting lost at the edge of a cliff at night."

The group moved off, back to the circle of ruined buildings. They took shelter in the frames of the stone structures, the moon floating above. From the forest below they could hear the sounds of nocturnal Pokemon, and the roar of the waves drifted up from the sea. In the warm tropical night they slept, as the world turned.

Morning broke early, golden sun rising over the treetops and plains to the east. The 17 trainers rose, some grumbling aloud for getting up so early. Taking one last look at the magnificent view of the city and the sea bathed in the morning light, they made their way down the steep path into the thick trees. The air lay heavy upon them, the humidity an inescapable blanket beneath the canopy of green. All around them, the sounds of the forest echoed through the trees. Sunlight filtered through the emerald leaves above, sending shafts of light down onto the path. Pokemon of many kinds could be seen in the trees and the undergrowth itself seemed alive. Slakoth lazed in the branches above, half asleep in their slothfulness. At length, the group reached a fork in the road, one not marked on the map.

"Great, now what?" said James, as Evelyn and Del looked carefully at the map. "How do we know which way we have to go?" asked Del. "Mountains, I can handle, but in this jungle, my orienteering won't work."

Suddenly, someone stepped forward from the group. It was Brian, the quiet kid from Celedon City. "I know how to choose…my Pokemon can help." With that, he pulled a pokeball from his belt and threw it into the air. The ball opened and revealed a shortish, slender Pokemon with a large head. It was a Bellsprout, standing on a pair of root like legs, connecting to a reed like body. The Pokemon's yellow head turned as it glanced around, small eyes blinking. "This is Roots, my partner." Brian said.

"Sprout," was the response from the flycatcher Pokemon.

"With his thin legs, he can detect vibrations in the ground. By listening to the earth, he can tell which way we have to go. Go ahead, buddy, show them."

"Sprout bel," said the slender Pokemon, as it walked to the fork in the path and stood stock still, legs spread in a wide stance. Silence filled the air, only the sound of Pokemon in the forest remained. After a few seconds, the Bellsprout gave a confident-sounding "Sprout!" and turned its head toward the right fork.

Del looked down the right-hand path. "So this is the way we have to go? Alright, Brian, we'll take your word for it. Let's get moving!"

Down the path, the group walked, as the day grew warm and sticky beneath the trees. Suddenly, a loud screeching yell broke the doldrums that had taken hold over the forest. A flash of white leapt in front of the group, and just like that, a wild Vigoroth stood growling before the trainers. "Whoa, watch out!" Del shouted to the group. "Vigoroth are very territorial, and with their strength and sharp claws, they're a real danger. We have to…"

"Bonsai!!" came the shout, as the Cianwood Island trainer, Ed, charged to the front of the group. Shaking his fist at the wild Pokemon, he shouted, "Hey you, monkey! You want a battle, you've got one!" With that, he threw a pokeball into the air, and the shape that emerged appeared as a disheveled ball of fur with arms, legs, and a tail. The brownish Pokemon turned, revealing itself to be a Mankey. The fighting-type Pokemon grunted through its pig like nose, then screeched loudly at the Vigoroth. "Go Twitch, use Karate Chop!" shouted Ed. The Mankey leapt into action, bounding high into the air and swinging its deceptively powerful fist at Vigoroth. The white Pokemon jumped out of the way just in time to dodge the blow, and screeched at the charging Mankey. "Try a Low Kick, Twitch!" Ed shouted, jumping up and down with excitement. "Mankey!" shrieked the pig monkey Pokemon, swinging its foot at the normal-type. Vigoroth jumped over the attack, hurdling into the air and bring its claw down hard onto Twitch's body. The powerful Scratch did damage to the Mankey, and it seemed defeated, until Ed shouted, "Counter!!" Twitch's eyes shot open, glowing white, as it jumped up and, in the same motion, struck a potent blow with its fist into the Vigoroth's chest. The counterattack sent the wild monkey Pokemon flying into a nearby tree, denting it with the force of impact. Vigoroth struggled to its feet and climbed back into the trees, vanishing into the canopy. "That's the last we'll see of him," said Ed, a broad smile crossing his face.

The day wore on, the sun passing overhead through the cracks in the canopy. Soon, the trees grew thinner, until they gave way altogether to a great, sandy plain. Low hills and yellowish grass dominated the landscape. "The map," said Del, his finger tracing the path, "says that after a few miles, this gives way to desert, and the Academy's a short distance from there. We'll take a short break for lunch, then finish up this journey."

A half-hour later, the group was on the move again, traversing the hillocks and knolls of the landscape. Looking back they could see the forest rising on the ridge, wispy white clouds dotting the sky. By late afternoon, the grassy ground had given way to sand dunes, pallid on one side and shaded on the other. It was hard going, marching up one side and back down another, but as the sun set, they could see a mountain-like structure bursting from the sand. It was some kind of massive rock, one face shrouded in the shadow of the early evening. Drawing up close to it, the exhausted group found a small rocky structure, looking like some kind of boulder, lying before the mountain itself. A woman's voice, clear and pleasant, suddenly began emanating from the rock. "Welcome, travelers. Please present your Pokedexes to the scanner below, to verify your identities." Under a stone lip, an electronic device resembling a credit-card reader presented itself. In turn, each trainer scanned their Pokedex in the machine. After all seventeen 'dexes had been scanned, the voice responded, "Welcome, young trainers. We have been expecting you. Please, come inside." With that, a massive stone door slid open. in the base of the mountain, undetectable and seamless with the wall. The pathway beyond was illuminated with electric lights, and paved of some light stone.

"Sir, the Class of '06 has arrived. All are accounted for." The woman turned from her console as she spoke. The dimly lit room was filled with dozens of computer screens. The figure behind her nodded slightly, then turned and exited the chamber, the glass doors sliding shut behind him.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11 – Fact-finding Mission

Seventeen pairs of shoes on the smooth stone floor sent echoing footfalls down the long hallway. Slowly, the rocky exterior door slid shut behind them, and identical rows of wall sconces gave the entranceway a pleasant glow. The floor was some type of flat, smooth stone, arranged in a checkerboard of gray-shaded tiles. The walls, seemingly carved from sandstone, were rough to the touch, and textured like brownish stucco. Down the long hallway the group walked, their reflections looking down on them from the polished black marble that covered the ceiling in large panels. Finally, they reached a doorway, sealed a pair of clear panes illuminated from within by red lights. Another electronic panel, like the one they encountered outside. This one, however, featured a large square button that glowed green. Trevor, who was nearest to it, cautiously laid his hand on the switch. Surprisingly, the red lights in the door turned green, and the door slid open noiselessly. Walking through the threshold, the group was utterly amazed by what they saw.

The room they entered was vast, approaching the size of the train depot in Mauville City. The ceiling towered several stories above them, and rings of lights wrapped each of the floors that hugged the walls below. From where they stood, they could see at least 3 levels of walkways carved into the stone walls. For its size it was surprisingly well-lit, blackened steel braziers of fire hanging on the walls. The walls on either side of the round room were lined with several doors, some ajar, others shut. Hallways could be seen stretching off into other parts of the complex. The floor was a vast checkered pattern of dark stone, though they could discern no recognizable pattern. However, the most prominent feature of this massive chamber was a titanic statue of a dragonlike Pokemon, carved of glistening black marble. It stood at least a storey tall; wings outspread and eyes seeming to leer down on the trainers. On either side of the statue stood a pair of tall, metal scaffolds, each holding aloft a huge dish of fire. The light of the flames flickered off of the gigantic Pokemon's body, making the form even more imposing. Suddenly, their attention was diverted as a woman's voice announced, "Welcome, young travelers!"

The seventeen trainers took their eyes off of the statue and looked, nearly as one, to its base, where the voice had emerged. It was then that they noticed the desk, dusky in color with a crimson banner draped across it, and the smiling woman sitting behind it. She was relatively young, in her 30's they guessed, with dark hair, brown eyes, and a kind smile. They made their way across the room and clustered around the surprisingly large desk. She was wearing some sort of short-sleeved dress, emerald green in color, and a matching accessory in her hair. She stood and said, "My name is Maya," giving a slight bow as she did so. "I am honored to be the first to welcome you to Ironspine Academy. Your arrival has been long awaited; I trust that everyone arrived here safely?"

"It's been a long journey," Del said, "but we're all here."

Maya nodded, and said, "That is wonderful to hear. I'm sure that after your journey, you all must be in need of refreshment. I will lead you all to your quarters, and give you a brief tour of the Academy." With that, she turned and began to walk across the dark stone floor towards one of the flame-lit hallways, the group following close behind her.

"The room where we met is known as the Nexus Lobby. It is the heart of the Academy, from which any section of the facility can be accessed with ease. The entirety of Ironspine Academy is self-contained; it has its own power, water, and waste-management services... Ah, here we are." Maya took a step forward and pushed open a set of double doors, revealing a large room with tables, enough to seat hundreds. "All of our food is grown, produced, and prepared here, in the Dining Hall. We serve a vast menu, rotated daily for each of the three daily meals. As you can see, we have adequate seating for many more, but this is a…special case." Maya turned abruptly and said to the group, "Let's go see more of the Academy, shall we?" She passed back through the doors, as members of the group gave each other puzzled looks.

Back out into the hallway, Maya led the group up a long, gently curving flight of stairs, to the second floor. Exiting the stairway, they found themselves looking out over the Nexus Lobby, on one side of the giant statue.

"We have to take another staircase to reach the next floor, where the classrooms are located."

At the mention of the word 'classrooms,' James gave a groan of disapproval, and Nathan glanced ahead, a small smile creasing his lips. Up another semicircular staircase cut from the rock, the group emerged on the second level, a full 30 feet above the lobby below. The floor consisted of a wide ring of stone, its radius to the wall some 10 feet wider than the floor below. The same was true for the floor below, and looking down from this height, the floors below look like giant stone steps down to the black stone floor. A balustrade of steel separated the walkway from a 10-foot drop. The walls in either direction were carved of rough sandstone and lined by intermittent doors and wall sconces.

"This is the third floor, where all of the classrooms can be found. While you stay here you will be educated in everything from history to science, caring for Pokemon to battling with them. Our faculty lives on-site, and all are among the leaders in their areas of expertise. Even our chefs in the kitchen downstairs are famous throughout Otaru for their skill. Which reminds me: down the hallway opposite the Dining Hall on the ground floor, we have a full-service gymnasium, where your recreational sports of all types are at your disposal. We also have a Pokemon- and human-friendly weight room, and a full-size swimming pool. Also in that wing are the battlefields, where you may stage recreational Pokemon battles and where much of your battle training will take place. If you'll follow me, I'll take you all to your quarters."

Back down the stairs they went, hands grasping the outside wall's steel handrail. Looking down this hallway, they noticed with a shock that no doors faced the Lobby, as with all of the other floors.

"This is the second floor, where all of the residential dormitories for students are located. You have probably noticed that there are no doors visible from the main hall. This is because on either side, a smaller passageway arcs around inside this wall, and the doors can be found within. Seen from above, it roughly resembles a pot with two handles, the handles being the access hallways. The setup is this way for privacy. From this stairway, ladies, your rooms are to the left. Gentlemen, yours are to the right, on the far side of the ring. After 11 PM and before 9 AM, no member of the opposite gender is permitted in the other wing. We have security personnel who work around the clock, and will not fail to turn in any violators of this policy. Within your own hallway, however, you are free to intermingle as you please. Each hallway has its own array of showers, sinks, and amenities for that hallway's use, and theirs alone. Your rooms are prepared for you're your belongings are in your pre-assigned rooms, along with your room key. Finally, I have an announcement. Tonight at 6 o'clock, there will be a welcome dinner in the dining hall, where your professors will meet you for the first time. You are all expected to attend. Until then, please, make yourselves comfortable, take a shower, and unpack. Again, it has been an honor, I'm sure I'll see you all again." Maya gave another quick bow, and descended back down the stairs.

The group split in two, each gender heading to their new quarters. As he walked near the rail, Chester noticed the statue again. From this point, it was facing him, gleaming from the flames. Suddenly it occurred to him: This statue…it has diamond-shaped wings… His mind flashed back to the cloaked figure…the storm…defeating the King Tentacruel as the waves lashed the deck of the ship.

The hallways were in a state of uproar as everyone got settled in their new rooms. All of the rooms were roughly the same: Modestly sized, they were some 15 feet long, and roughly 13 feet wide. Each had a desk and chair with a series of shelves over it, a lamp, and a tall, wall-mounted closet unit. The beds were long, with metal frames and surprisingly comfortable mattresses. A low dresser, about hip-height, was against a side wall, opposite the desk. The walls were bare, but thankfully the stone was covered in drywall, painted a sandy brown. Ports for a DSL line sat in the wall, as did several electrical outlets. The single light was mounted in the ceiling, effectively illuminating the entire space. In the girls' wing, Ashley's room was first, followed by Courtney's, then Amy, Summer, Evelyn, Megan, and Vanessa. James' room was first on the guys' side, followed by Trevor, Ed, Alex, Del, Nathan, Oliver, Vince, Brian, and Chester. Oliver walked over to Ed's room, where the stocky young man was unpacking a punching bag.

"Hey, my name's Oliver. Could you give me a hand with some of my stuff?"

"Sure, no prob," said Ed, a big grin on his face. He let the bag, which he had been carrying with no difficulty, fall to the floor with enough force to shake the room. Oliver was agape. "Just how strong is this guy?" he wondered to himself.

Meanwhile, Vince carried a cardboard box out into the hall, and saw Del doing the same from his room down the hall. Vince gave Del a quick nod, then turned and went back into his room. Del stood there for a moment, contemplating the significance of this action, then returned to his room.

That night, the group reassembled in the dining hall, refreshed from the day's rest. As they made their way into the large room, they sat alone or in pairs, chatting quietly. A new, long table had been set up perpendicular to the two long rows, and was covered by a crimson banner, bearing the school's seal embossed in black. The doors at the near end of the hall parted, and in stepped Maya, the woman from earlier. She was wearing a new dress, though this one was also green. She walked in front of the long table and smiled.

"Good evening, young trainers. I am pleased to introduce to you, your teachers for this year. They have been selected from around the world to provide you with the very best education. And so, I present to you, your professors!"

The double doors hinged open again, and a surprisingly young man stepped through. He wore a blue suit with a yellow tie, and had long locks of green hair. As he approached the table, he waved a strand of hair from his eyes, and gave a grin.

"Hello everyone," he said in pleasant voice, "my name's Mr. Preston. My areas of focus are history and geography, and I look forward to helping you all in this journey."

A smile crossed his handsome face again, and he took his seat behind the table, as some of the girls blushed. Next, a woman entered the room and stood before the table. She was wearing a white apron-like dress, marked with a pink pokeball design on one side, and a sallow tee-shirt underneath. Skin-tight blue stockings terminated above the knee, giving way to a pair of rosy boots. Her hair was the color of bubble gum, arranged in a series of curls, and her eyes reflected a cheery emotion.

"Hey, everybody, I'm Ms. Lockhart. I'll be your professor of Pokemon care and health. It's great to meet everybody!"

She gave a slight bow, then smiled and took her place behind the table. Another man came ambling through the doors behind the table and stood where the other professors had. He was tall and lanky, with dark hair and glasses that flashed in the firelight. He wore a white lab coat with a bluish shirt underneath, and dark green dress pants. "Good evening, young trainers," he said in a deep, proud voice. "My name is Mr. Fisk, and my area of study is the science of Pokemon, the studies of the reactions that take place when working with these creatures. I look forward to sharing my knowledge with you."

Again the doors parted, but the man who stepped through this time was rather unlike the others. He was dressed in a black track jacket and yellowish pants. He was a massive man, well over six feet in height, with broad shoulders and a pot belly. His head was large and bald as the day he was born, sitting atop a thick neck. This man rumbled up to the front, his heavy footsteps echoing through the hall. "The name's Ratliff," the big man said in a deep, rough voice, "but you all can call me Coach. I'm the professor of athletics and the school's resident Battle Specialist. I'll make sure you all are physically ready for what you're in for this year…"

Coach Ratliff took his seat behind the banner-draped table. The history teacher, Mr. Preston, gave a sigh, and said, "It's time you all knew the truth as to why you have been gathered here. It was not just fate, blind coincidence that brought you all together. Things are in motion that are difficult to even conceive. And you, the Class of '06, you are the key."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 – Through the Never

The seventeen trainers stood at rapt attention, their eyes all trained on the four adults before them. The anticipation, the expectation, all of their questions, were about to be answered. The green-haired history teacher stood and slowly walked to the front of the long table. No one said a word, the only sound Mr. Preston's shoes as he strode to a stop. "What I am about to share with you," he began, "is something I myself, and the other teachers, were informed of mere weeks ago. We four have sworn to use our knowledge and our talents to prepare you all for the challenge that now faces us."

"It happened many ages ago," he continued, "in the time before the cooperation of humans and Pokemon. The world was a vast, wild place, dotted by human settlements and wild Pokemon of all types wandered the land. Then one day, in the region of Otaru, a great fear poured fourth over the land. A mysterious Pokemon had fallen from the heavens, and before long, it began to lay waste to the earth, destroying anything in its path. The survivors of this onslaught, both human and Pokemon, mustered a final charge against the space creature, which they cornered in the Otaru Desert. Of these there were seventeen humans, refugees from the destruction, who had gathered from all reaches of the continent. Also at this decisive showdown, there were seventeen Pokemon who had survived the space monster's ravages. These too had gathered from across the region, traversing the destroyed landscape to answer the cries of anguish that rang throughout the land. As it turned out, the Pokemon that gathered each represented one of the 17 types. These Pokemon weren't bound to these humans, nor vice versa, but together they made a stand against this destructive force. A long and violent battle ensued, the Pokemon using their elemental skills and abilities to combat the monster, and the humans providing encouragement and battle strategies. Eventually, the space creature weakened, and it retreated back to the infinite abyss from whence it had come."

Mr. Preston cleared his throat, and continued the story. "After the cataclysmic encounter, the exhausted Pokemon and humans celebrated with one another, their victory sparing the rest of the world the fate that Otaru had suffered. The space creature's rampage had decimated human and Pokemon populations across the region, but had failed to eliminate all of any species. The land, and the life it supported, would eventually heal and repopulate Otaru. Through the trial that the space creature had provided, humans and Pokemon had defended their world side-by-side for the first time. This event marked the very first cooperation between humans and Pokemon. This story, however, is unknown to the world outside of the walls of this complex." Mr. Fisk, the white-coated science teacher, stood to join the explanation. "As I'm sure you all are aware," he said, "the societies of Pokeopolis and the like are generally thought of as the origin of Pokemon-human collaboration. This, however, is false. The information you have just received has been hidden in this structure for centuries."

At this point James stood, and said, "Well, thanks for the history lesson, but that doesn't explain why we're all here right now."

"The young man has a point," said Mr. Fisk, "so I'll let Professor Preston finish his explanation."

"Thank you, Professor Fisk. The Headmaster of Ironspine Academy is a direct descendant of one of the seventeen humans present at that great battle. He is the last person alive with the same blood as his ancestor. The Headmaster recently sensed a presence that had not been detected for centuries: the space beast is returning to Earth to wreak its horrible vengeance. Disturbed by this sensation, he sought to gather the descendants of the Pokemon present at that battle so long ago, knowing that only they can eventually gather the strength necessary to defeat the creature. The seventeen Pokemon, one of each type, are those that you trainers carry."

A wave of murmurs and looks of various emotions rippled through the crowd.

"You seventeen, you have been code-named the Class of '06. Your Pokemon carry within themselves a capacity of which they themselves are unaware, and fate has chosen you to accompany them. We four professors have been mustered for our abilities, our prowess in various skills, and are sworn to help you and your Pokemon hone the proficiency to defeat the space creature." At this, Ms. Lockhart stood.

"By taking in and caring for your Pokemon, you have proven your loyalty to them. They trust you, and you them, but that will not be enough to prevail over this foe. Much time and effort must be invested to strengthen mind and body, Pokemon and trainer."

Mr. Fisk came forward next. "At this time, we ask that you each stand in a line before us, and release your Pokemon. Coach Ratliff will perform a preliminary exam of your Pokemon to assure their health."

The young trainers got their feet and assembled into a long row in front of the professors' table. Each reached to belt clips, into bags and purses, and withdrew a crimson-and-white ball. The entire room briefly flickered a bright red as seventeen digital forms took shape on the floor. In moments, a Pokemon stood on the stone-tiled floor in front of each trainer. Coach Ratliff now stood, notepad in hand, as the other three professors looked on. The bulky man walked to the far left-hand end of the line, where Alex stood. On the ground before the confident young man was a Swinub, a furry brown Pokemon with dark stripes crossing its back, and a large, pink piglike nose. Its body hung low to the ground, and long hair covered its eyes. The Ice-type snorted, a small expulsion of snowy vapor jetting from its nose. Next to him stood Courtney, purse slung over her shoulder and a haughty expression on her face. In front of her stood a Skitty, a pink catlike Pokemon with short legs and a long bulbous tail. The Normal-type was immaculately groomed and wore the same expression as her master.

"What's her name?" asked the Coach to Courtney.

"Her name's Princess," said Courtney, a smug smile on her lips.

Coach moved to the next student, the arrogant Trevor. Standing before him was a Sandshrew, an armadillo-like Pokemon with thick yellow plates on its back, a white underbelly and face, and large, dark eyes. It seems well-trained, thought Coach, eying the Mouse Pokemon's small, but sharp, claws. Moving on, he stood in front of James, student and teacher's matching hairless heads gleaming under the firelight. The trainer stood behind a Bagon, a rare Dragon-type Pokemon with a muscular blue body, smooth skin, and thick plates of bone casing the top of its head. Such a powerful Pokemon, despite its age, Coach thought. As the ponderous man moved down the line, Bagon looked back at its trainer, and each shot the other a toothy grin. Next down the line was Ashley, who had a Vulpix sitting before her. Coach extended his hand and held it palm-first a foot from the Fire-type's body. I can feel the warmth, he thought, which means it's in good health. The foxlike Pokemon stood and turned her head slightly, watching the large man carefully. Courtney wore a slight smile of satisfaction as Coach moved on.

Continuing down the line, Evelyn stood behind a Mareep, a sheeplike Pokemon with fluffy yellow wool covering most of its body. The Pokemon appeared to be in good spirits, waving its yellow-and-blue striped tail happily. Its face and legs were dark blue, and energetic black eyes looked back at him, as static electricity crackled in its wooly coat. Coach smiled, and moved down to Summer. Standing before the blonde-haired girl was a Krabby, a crustaceous Water-type with a red shell and claws and pale yellow underside. The river crab Pokemon foamed slightly from its mouth, a common reaction by this species when in an unusual situation, and snapped its deceptively strong claws in the air. Amy was next, a vigorous Taillow standing before her. Its plumage had a helthy sheen, blue with highlights of red and white. "Tail?" asked the bird Pokemon, cocking its head slightly to one side. Next, Nathan stood behind a green Bug-type Pokemon known as a Spinarak. The spiderlike Pokemon had bands of bright yellow and black on its six legs, and its abdomen bore a facelike design on it. Coach noted the pattern's design, resembling a smiling face, and moved on to Oliver. The young man in the ninja suit stood grinning behind a green amorphous blob, punctuated by a yellow featherlike crest.

"Could you have your Gulpin open its mouth, Oliver?" asked Coach, backtracking a step.

Oliver nodded to the Poison-type Pokemon, and it stretched its mouth open, gaping at least a foot from top to bottom. This Pokemon can easily enough to consume a watermelon in one swallow, thought Coach.

"Very good, very good," said the bulky professor, jotting it on his notepad before moving on.

Brian now stood, and before him, a slender Bellsprout. The grass-type swayed slightly on its willowy, rootlike legs, and tiny black eyes looked back at him. Onward down the line, he stood before Ed and his Mankey. The fighting-type monkey moved in sudden, jerky movements, breathing through its pig-like nose. Ed wore an enthusiastic expression and flashed Coach a thumbs-up.

Coach looked curiously at the smiling young man, then moved on to Del. The tall, stocky trainer stood behind a Geodude. The rock-type's body was fairly rounded, a good indication that it had had its share of battles. "Geo, geodude!" it croaked, extending its stony arms to their full span. The teacher took a note in his pad, than walked to the next student. Vince, dark hair shining in the firelight, crossed his arms. Before him was an Aron, a robust, four-legged Pokemon species bearing an armor of steel. This protective coat covered most of its body, face punctuated with electric-blue eyes. Coach was about to move on when he noticed the iron Pokemon's right eye. This eye was bright red, but its left was the normal cobalt color.

"I've never seen anything like this," Coach said, "your Aron displays both normal and recessive eye color traits. Truly unique…"

Vince looked down at the squat Pokemon, and thought to himself, "You have no idea."

Third from the end stood Megan, with a small white Ralts kneeling silently before her. The Pokemon had a green, bowl-shaped structure on its head, hiding its large rosy eyes and tiny mouth. Atop its head was a pair of reddish crests that are used to detect the emotions of those around it. The psychic-type's pallid body was very frail-looking, but Coach knew that it contained within itself a vast reservoir of psychic power. Next to her, Vanessa shyly stood. Beside her floated a Shuppet, a timid Ghost-type Pokemon that feeds on feelings of fear and anger. The Pokemon's large expressive eyes were mirrored by her trainer, only differing in color. Finally, Coach came to Chester, standing defiantly next to the wall. At his feet was a stern looking Dark-type, a Murkrow. This species is normally sprightly and mischievous, he thought, this one, however, seems very confrontational and determination flickers in its eyes. The firelight glistened off of its dusky feathers, as it stared sharply at the teacher.

"Interesting…" was all Coach Ratliff could say, before turning towards the other professors while jotting a few notes. The winged Pokemon continued to stare at the bald man as he walked away, an intense glare for seemingly no reason.

"The examination is complete," noted Coach as he closed his notebook. "Your classes will begin on Wednesday, the day after tomorrow. Your day will begin with History, followed by Science, Health, and conclude with Battle Training. Dinner will now be served, for both you and your Pokemon. I'm sure you all are hungry after the long journey you've had."

The trainers and their Pokemon ate their meals, some more enthusiastically than others. The topic on everyone's minds, however, was the information they had just received. How could they are responsible for saving the world from some sort of horror from beyond the stars? It was almost too much to comprehend. The amount of training…the dedication this must include…it was much bigger than any of the trainers had imagined. The journey, they realized, had only just begun.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13 – Lucky Stars

Two mornings after the introductory dinner, the trainers set off to their first class at Ironspine Academy. Mr. Preston's classroom door was ajar, students trickling through and taking a seat in the beige-tinted room. The room, as with every other in the complex, lacked windows to the outside, but light not unlike that of sunlight shone from the lamps above. The floor was of sheets of tan stone, the desks arranged in five rows of five. At the front of the room was a marker-board with several pull-down style maps mounted above, looming behind a wooden desk. In all respects it resembled an ordinary history classroom, no different than one that they might have sat in last year. The door opened, and in stepped the handsome green-haired professor, adjusting his yellow tie as he strode to the chair behind his desk.

"Good morning, class," said Mr. Preston, standing before the assembled trainers. "Let's start things off easy. How many of you know about the continent of Otaru? From what I understand, none of you are natives to this region."

Summer raised her hand. "I've been here once before, with my brothers. They were entered in a contest and surfed off the north coast, some beach town. I don't remember the name of the place, but the waves…they were perfect…"

"The Flawless Coast," said the professor, motioning toward a map of the continent. "The Northeastern shore of Otaru is known for its beautiful beaches and resounding wave patterns. It is truly a place of unrivaled beauty for someone of your brothers' trade, Summer."

"Otaru is an amazing place from a geographic standpoint, with mountains, beaches, plains, plateaus, and deserts, not to mention the cities and towns. The area we must familiarize ourselves with most thoroughly, however, is this," sweeping his pointer in a wide circle around a yellowish area in the center of the map. "You see, this entire area is known as the Otaru Desert. It is a vast, desolate region, protected from rains by the twin ridges of mountains that surround it. It is here," motioning to a point near the western fringe of the desert, "where we now sit, the location of this Academy. The last Headmaster, the current Headmaster's father, established this place as a prestigious Pokemon academy where all the finest aspects of education could be instilled in the youth of Otaru. He also built it, in secret, to cater to the needs of the group of Pokemon and trainers that could defeat the space monster, should it ever return to Otaru. Now that time is upon us, and his son has assumed the responsibility of defending the world again."

"So," said James, without raising his hand. "You're telling us that we've been gathered, from all around the world, to this school, where you and some other teachers will give us the skills we need to defeat some space monster?"

"It's not as simple as it sounds, James," said Professor Preston, walking back to the board. "This creature is a being that has been wandering the cosmos for, as far as we know, millennia. It is not tethered by the bounds of power that exist here in this world. Your Pokemon partners, they hold within themselves a shard of the energy possessed by their ancestors, the only force that can repel the space monster. How to harness that power, however, is what you and your Pokemon are here to learn."

Later in the morning, the trainers moved en masse to the science classrooms in the western wing of the complex. Entering through the double doors that hinged open with a sigh, they took their seats on stools behind gleaming black table surfaces. The walls were a sterile gray, impassive and uniform, while the ceiling above was a tangle of piping, wires, and metal beams. The tables were arranged in a circular pattern around a wide, round central surface, about 10 feet in diameter. Built into one wall was a small room, fully visible through thick panes of plastic, and sealed by a metal door. Nathan's eyes flashed excitedly as he entered the modern-looking lab, glancing from one end of the room to another. "It's the ideal lab setup…" he thought to himself, taking a seat near the front. Mr. Fisk, the science professor, sat at a desk in one corner, behind a computer. The lanky man stood and took his place at the front of the room, before a double-paneled marker-board.

"Good morning, Class of '06. The world of Pokemon is filled with complex reactions. Some of these you may already be aware of, but others have effects beyond the visible world, outside of the scope of a trainer's perception. In order to become a truly potent force, one that is capable of repelling this extraterrestrial threat, you each must first understand the science behind your Pokemon and their attacks. For example, have you ever wondered how a Fire Pokemon generates the fire for its attacks? Or how the energy of an Electric-type is amassed, concentrated, and released? These are questions that are vital to your true understanding of your Pokemon partners. In science, as in Pokemon battling, nothing can be left to chance."

After a midday lunch break, the group moved upstairs once more to Ms. Lockhart's classroom, opposite the science wing. This room was brightly lit, with blue-green linoleum covering the floor. Desks were arranged in an arc, curving in around in front of the whiteboard. The wall on the right had a set of double doors, and a stretcher of some kind stood beside them. Ms. Lockhart stood before the board, smiling as the trainers found their seats. After everyone was seated, the pink-haired professor began to speak.

"Welcome to Pokemon Care and Health, everybody!" she said in a cheery voice. "In this class, you will learn how to properly care for your Pokemon. This is as vital a skill as any you will learn here, because just as with a human being, a Pokemon is a living, breathing organism. It is not just a machine for battle; rather, it is a friend, something that must be taken care of. Over the course of this term I'll show you how to groom your Pokemon, how to heal them from injury, and, perhaps most importantly, how to read your Pokemon's emotions. Since your Pokemon can't speak to you directly, it is key that you be able to tell what your partner is trying to impart to you. For you trainers, you will also learn to keep your emotions in check in any situation, an imperative skill for battle or any emergency situation that you may find yourself in."

"I am also the academy's head Pokemon nurse, so if anything appears to be wrong with your Pokemon, come see me and we'll get it straightened out. The adjoining room is a fully-stocked infirmary, where my Pokemon and I are on call around the clock. This task that you all must undertake…it is truly an honor to offer my services to help this cause."

The final class of the schedule, Battle Practice, is held near the battlefields on the ground floor of the complex. The trainers walked into the large room, desks attached to the stadium-style seating. The room appeared to be one of the complex's battle arenas, the high ceiling dotted with lights, and loudspeakers affixed to the walls. The floor before them was an official-size Pokemon battlefield, complete with elevated trainer boxes. A wheeled chalkboard stood before the seats, the faded remnants of X's, O's, and arrows still visible. A door on the far end hinged open with a squeak, and in stepped Coach Ratliff, the big man ducking his head slightly to get through the frame. He made his way across the room, cutting across the battlefield as he did so. Finally he stood in front of the assembled trainers, a clipboard in hand.

"Seventeen types," he began, his gruff voice echoing in the cavernous room, "the full spectrum of Pokemon. I understand that each of your Pokemon partners are the representatives of their type, the group that, once united, refined, and purified, can defeat this space menace. Each of you before me today, you may come in here thinking yourselves to be strong trainers, foolhardy enough to believe that to be true. In your current states, you lot wouldn't stand half a chance against this monster. Therefore, trainer and Pokemon must work, must push the boundaries of their skills and abilities to the limit and beyond. Under my tutelage you will grow into powerful trainers, utilizing your Pokemon's individual skills while protecting its weaknesses. Through intensive battle training against myself and each other in a wide variety of environments and situations, you will each learn the three most important concepts of Pokemon battling: Prediction, Knowledge, and Versatility. Once you have mastered these three virtues, you will be ready to combat the space beast."

High above the battle arena, in a room shielded from sight by tinted glass, a lone figure stood, watching Coach Ratliff deliver his opening message. The seventeen young trainers sat, in various stages of attention, watching him speak. Braziers of fire mounted on the walls flickered around the room, as the figure stood in silence, watching and thinking. "I can only hope they take this seriously…we must do all that we can to ensure the success of this mission. The fate of the world lies in their hands, whether they realize it or not."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 15 – All Over Again

The first week continued much as it had begun; the trainers grasping the concept of the routine. For the next three days, the seventeen trainers, some more begrudgingly than others, attended their classes and learned the ropes of their mission. As the group entered Coach Ratliff's facility on Friday afternoon, the greatest expectations of some coincided with the worst fears of others. Today, the bald man said, they were to start their formal battle training.

"Today," Coach began, standing before the group under the overhead lights, "you will begin your transformation into Pokemon battlers capable of undertaking this great task. As you may or may not be aware, I am a former competitive Pokemon trainer. I have reached the Elite 8 or better in Kanto, Hoenn, and Johto's Pokemon League tournaments. With my Pokemon by my side, I have dedicated my life to understanding the complexities of battle. Now it is my task to pass my knowledge and experience on to you. At this time I ask that you each call out your Pokemon partners and align them as you did during the introductory dinner."

The trainers each rose and stood side by side on the boundary of the battlefield. Some spoke softly to each other, others silently followed the command, withdrawing Pokeballs from their bags and belts as they did so. Moments later they were joined by their seventeen partners, materializing before each of them in an electric red flash of light.

"A Pokemon is an entity unto itself, separate from its trainer, but at the same time you and your partner are one, united. This concept is one that trainers often find difficult to grasp. Your Pokemon are capable of free will, they have their own mannerisms and tendencies that make them unique. They are, at the same time, influenced by their trainer's nature, which also has a hand in shaping who they are."

"This first exercise will help to show who each of you are, and who each of your Pokemon are. For the next hour, I'm going to give you all, both trainer and Pokemon, free roam in this room. You are all free to do as you wish, talk, whatever. The only thing is that you may not communicate with your Pokemon. In their trainer's absence, your Pokemon's true nature may become more evident than you've ever seen. From what I observe in the actions of your Pokemon and of you trainers, I can better establish how to teach you the techniques of battle. So now, trainers, go off and do what you want, just stay in this room. Pokemon, you may do as you desire as well, but stay within these four walls."

Slowly, the large group of Pokemon began to disperse around the room, their human companions doing the same. Spirit, Amy's Taillow, took to air and flapped about, beneath the high ceiling. Ed's Mankey, Twitch, seemed to be flexing its muscles in front of Evelyn's Mareep, Rie, and Ashley's Vulpix, named Mystic. Del's Geodude, Slate, practiced its Rock Throw technique, hurling boulders from a pile in the corner, while Blade, Trevor's Sandshrew, James' Bagon, Rush, and Chrome, Vince's Aron, smashed them in mid-air with their attacks. Nathan's Spinarak, named Arich, had built a web along one wall, while Roots the Bellsprout and Kenji, Oliver's Gulpin, watched . Princess, Courtney's Skitty, took to one of the elevated trainer boxes, overlooking the others with a disinterested expression. Summer's Krabby, Flow, walked in its sideways fashion back and forth around the arena, wandering aimlessly, as did Tusk, Alex's Swinub. Hiding behind a large rock, Mary, Megan's Ralts, looked plaintively toward her human counterpart, who was also sitting alone, watching the scene unfold. In a shadowy corner not far from her own trainer, Fallen, Vanessa's Shuppet, hovered silently, and on a steel rafter high above the battlefield, Shadow the Murkrow perched, glaring down on the other trainers and Pokemon.

The trainers, like their Pokemon, seemed to form into small groups, sitting with friends and chatting quietly. Ashley, Evelyn, Amy, and Summer sat together, the four girls discussing their and their Pokemons' pasts. Off to the side, Megan watched the four, conflicted emotion in her eyes. Just as their Pokemon had, Brian, Oliver, and Nathan sat together, discussing interests. James sat near Del and Ed, who were talking about working out in the gym over the weekend, while Vince looked on nearby. The dark-haired trainer glanced towards the battlefield and watched Chrome carefully, knowing that, like himself, Chrome's short temper could make him lash out at the other Pokemon. The Aron had to be tough, growing up as a rogue in the streets of Olivine City.

Near the top of the stadium seats, Courtney sat typing text messages on her pink-plated cell phone. The blonde-haired girl wore an expression of sheer boredom, rose-colored nails tapping on the illuminated silver buttons. To her left, Alex absentmindedly tossed a tennis ball into the air, catching it as it fell. On her right, Trevor watched as Blade executed a particularly potent Scratch attack, shattering a melon-sized stone with a single strike. All of our training will pay off, he thought to himself, as the Sandshrew leapt into the air for another attack.

In a far corner, Chester sat back in a chair, headphones over his ears and eyes closed. Looking out over the various Pokemon, he spotted his dark-type partner on a high rafter, leering down on the others as usual. "If only everybody could understa…"

His thoughts were interrupted as he felt a presence near him. Glancing around, he saw Vanessa settle lightly into a seat near him. The fair-skinned girl watched the Pokemon in silence, glancing upward and spotting her Shuppet floating near the ceiling in a dark crevasse. Chester thought back to the conversation the two had shared atop the Ironspine Ridge, as the moon rose from the beyond the desert. What might she have told him if they hadn't been interrupted? There was so much he wanted to know…so many questions. He shifted in his chair, closing his eyes once more and immersing himself in thought. Vanessa watched as the dark-haired boy slumped into the seat, his back to her, and unsure how she should feel.

After class was over, the trainers moved en masse to their rooms, relieved and ready to enjoy their first weekend at the academy. Courtney had fallen asleep in her seat in the stands, and Alex and Trevor had moved to the front row, several seats from one another, while their Pokemon stood before them. The two young men shot glances at each other, locked in an unspoken competition for Courtney's attention.

"You know," said Alex as he bent to tie his shoe, "you don't have a shot with her. She totally likes me more."

At this, Trevor turned angrily, standing before the young man.

"Are you kidding?! Dude, she knows you're weaker than me!" he snapped back, face contorted into a scowl. "I'll prove it to you!" he shouted, snapping a Pokeball from his belt.

Alex did the same, holding the crimson-and-white sphere in his hand, staring heatedly at the silver-haired young man. "If it's a battle you want, you got it!" he shouted. "Go, Tusk!" The ball opened and revealed a Swinub, which exhaled a small snowy gust from its piglike nose. The fur on the Pokemon's domed back began to bristle, and it began to snort angrily.

"Fine, go Blade! Let's go!" Trevor's pokeball opened, exposing an armor-plated Sandshrew. The mouse Pokemon's large brownish-black eyes narrowed at the sight of its trainer's rival, as it took a defensive stance opposite the Swinub.

"Are you sure you really want this?" Trevor asked brashly, waving a lock of hair from his face.

"Oh yeah?" Alex shouted back. "Go Tusk, Tackle attack!"

Obeying its trainer's command, the Ice-type took off at a loping run, gaining speed as it approached the Sandshrew.

"Blade, jump and dodge, then use Sand-Attack when you land!" commanded Trevor, spurring the mouse Pokemon into action. The Sandshrew was barely able to dodge the attack as Tusk charged straight into the spot where Blade had stood moments ago.

"Tusk, use Powder Snow! Hit it in the air!"

"Blade, Defense Curl!"

The Swinub whirled around with surprising speed and exhaled a large cloud of cold air, intermingled with snowflakes and ice particles. The icy attack glimmered in the air as it swept toward the airborne Sandshrew. Blade, hearing Trevor's command, coiled into a tight, armored ball, protecting its body and face from the brunt of the attack. Taking a super-effective attack from the Powder Snow, the rolled-up Sandshrew fell to the ground, but suddenly charged forward, rolling like a ball over the smooth earth of the battlefield.

"Blade, Crush Claw now!" A few feet from Tusk, the Sandshrew suddenly unrolled and, in one fluid motion, leapt into the air, one glowing claw held high.

"Tusk, look out!" shouted Alex, seeing his opponent's strategy unfold before him.

"That's enough!" yelled a new voice, this one deeper and louder, echoing through the empty arena. In the same instant, a flash appeared between the two battling Pokemon, instantly immobilizing them in mid-air. Though there appeared to be nothing between the two Pokemon mere moments before, both trainers became aware of a presence on the battlefield.

A dark brown Pokemon with white markings hovered down from the ceiling, its array of eight eyes glowing a bright blue. Both of the young men identified the Pokemon as a Claydol, a Psychic and Ground-type Pokemon of the ancient world. This one seemed to be utilizing its Psychic abilities to immobilize the two battling Pokemon, each frozen in mid-attack by the telekinetic force. The sound of a door shutting, suddenly jarred their attention to a side wall, where they saw Coach Ratliff striding toward them, a look of anger on his face.

"What were you two doing, holding an unsupervised battle down here? You could have hurt your Pokemon, or just as bad, yourselves! In a moment, I'll have my Claydol release your Pokemon, so that you can recall them. The three of us need to have a little chat."

With that, he nodded to the clay doll Pokemon, which released its telekinetic hold on the two battling Pokemon. Both Tusk and Blade slumped to the ground from the sudden release.

"Return, Tusk," withdrawing the Swinub back into its pokeball.

"Come on back, Blade," said Trevor, doing the same and snapping back onto the clip on his belt.

"I don't know what this was all about," said Coach, his voice stern, "but I'm sure it wasn't something worth battling over. What the two of you have to realize is that you're both here for the same reason, and we can't risk you injuring your Pokemon in an unsupervised battle. Battling, especially without the proper experience and training, can be a very dangerous business. Remember that they are not just your partners, they are the only Pokemon on the planet that can stop the space menace. All seventeen of you, trainers and your Pokemon, need to complete your training before it arrives, regardless of what you think is important now. We have apprentice battle judges if you want to have a practice battle, just see me in my office," he said as he motioned towards a set of double doors through which he had entered. "The two of you need to learn discipline, how to control your emotions. And believe me, you will." The bald man snapped a Pokeball from his belt and withdrew the Claydol as it hovered by his side. "Now you two, take the two side stairwells out of here and back to your rooms, cool off, and don't try a stunt like this again." With that, Coach turned and walked back through the metal doors, bald head gleaming under the arena lights. The two boys made one final glare at each other before entering their respective stairwells. They both silently blamed the other for starting the battle, and that this was only the beginning.

A rumor spread around the tables that night at dinner, hushed whispers that next week will mark the beginning of situational battling in Coach's class. Some trainers looked forward to battling, to test their strength, others anticipated a slow, agonizing week of forced conflict they had no desire to undertake. Professor Fisk had introduced them this week to the concept of type advantage and reviewed the table on the wall, which showed each battling type and its strengths and weaknesses. Soon real Pokemon, many of them belonging to the professor, would be included in the lectures and labs to illustrate this concept. Ms. Lockhart had spent the week introducing them to the various tools and equipment that stocked the infirmary and recovery annexes. Professor Preston was outlining the cities, towns, and landmarks of Otaru, giving interesting facts about each as he moved along. The first week had gone smoothly and rather quickly, the trainers said over their chicken caesar salads and pizza slices, maybe it won't be so bad here at the Academy. By each trainer's side on the floor, their Pokemon ate, some more quietly than others. Ed's Mankey, Twitch, stood and rapped its empty food bowl onto the table in front of its trainer, a satisfied look in its eyes.

Amy whispered to Evelyn, who was sitting next to her, "I wonder how it does that?", drawing a stifled giggle from the blonde-haired girl.

At another table, James and Vince sat at opposite ends and sides, their Pokemon doing the same. James turned and watched his Bagon eating, taking huge mouthfuls of food and chomping loudly, sending crushed bits falling back into the bowl. The dragon Pokemon sensed that he was being watched and glanced upwards at the mohawk-wearing boy, smiling a toothy grin dotted with bits of food.

That's the spirit, Rush, he thought to himself, we'll all see your power soon enough.

Next week will be a good week…


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15 – All Over Again

The first week continued much as it had begun; the trainers grasping the concept of the routine. For the next three days, the seventeen trainers, some more begrudgingly than others, attended their classes and learned the ropes of their mission. As the group entered Coach Ratliff's facility on Friday afternoon, the greatest expectations of some coincided with the worst fears of others. Today, the bald man said, they were to start their formal battle training.

"Today," Coach began, standing before the group under the overhead lights, "you will begin your transformation into Pokemon battlers capable of undertaking this great task. As you may or may not be aware, I am a former competitive Pokemon trainer. I have reached the Elite 8 or better in Kanto, Hoenn, and Johto's Pokemon League tournaments. With my Pokemon by my side, I have dedicated my life to understanding the complexities of battle. Now it is my task to pass my knowledge and experience on to you. At this time I ask that you each call out your Pokemon partners and align them as you did during the introductory dinner."

The trainers each rose and stood side by side on the boundary of the battlefield. Some spoke softly to each other, others silently followed the command, withdrawing Pokeballs from their bags and belts as they did so. Moments later they were joined by their seventeen partners, materializing before each of them in an electric red flash of light.

"A Pokemon is an entity unto itself, separate from its trainer, but at the same time you and your partner are one, united. This concept is one that trainers often find difficult to grasp. Your Pokemon are capable of free will, they have their own mannerisms and tendencies that make them unique. They are, at the same time, influenced by their trainer's nature, which also has a hand in shaping who they are."

"This first exercise will help to show who each of you are, and who each of your Pokemon are. For the next hour, I'm going to give you all, both trainer and Pokemon, free roam in this room. You are all free to do as you wish, talk, whatever. The only thing is that you may not communicate with your Pokemon. In their trainer's absence, your Pokemon's true nature may become more evident than you've ever seen. From what I observe in the actions of your Pokemon and of you trainers, I can better establish how to teach you the techniques of battle. So now, trainers, go off and do what you want, just stay in this room. Pokemon, you may do as you desire as well, but stay within these four walls."

Slowly, the large group of Pokemon began to disperse around the room, their human companions doing the same. Spirit, Amy's Taillow, took to air and flapped about, beneath the high ceiling. Ed's Mankey, Twitch, seemed to be flexing its muscles in front of Evelyn's Mareep, Rie, and Ashley's Vulpix, named Mystic. Del's Geodude, Slate, practiced its Rock Throw technique, hurling boulders from a pile in the corner, while Blade, Trevor's Sandshrew, James' Bagon, Rush, and Chrome, Vince's Aron, smashed them in mid-air with their attacks. Nathan's Spinarak, named Arich, had built a web along one wall, while Roots the Bellsprout and Kenji, Oliver's Gulpin, watched . Princess, Courtney's Skitty, took to one of the elevated trainer boxes, overlooking the others with a disinterested expression. Summer's Krabby, Flow, walked in its sideways fashion back and forth around the arena, wandering aimlessly, as did Tusk, Alex's Swinub. Hiding behind a large rock, Mary, Megan's Ralts, looked plaintively toward her human counterpart, who was also sitting alone, watching the scene unfold. In a shadowy corner not far from her own trainer, Fallen, Vanessa's Shuppet, hovered silently, and on a steel rafter high above the battlefield, Shadow the Murkrow perched, glaring down on the other trainers and Pokemon.

The trainers, like their Pokemon, seemed to form into small groups, sitting with friends and chatting quietly. Ashley, Evelyn, Amy, and Summer sat together, the four girls discussing their and their Pokemons' pasts. Off to the side, Megan watched the four, conflicted emotion in her eyes. Just as their Pokemon had, Brian, Oliver, and Nathan sat together, discussing interests. James sat near Del and Ed, who were talking about working out in the gym over the weekend, while Vince looked on nearby. The dark-haired trainer glanced towards the battlefield and watched Chrome carefully, knowing that, like himself, Chrome's short temper could make him lash out at the other Pokemon. The Aron had to be tough, growing up as a rogue in the streets of Olivine City.

Near the top of the stadium seats, Courtney sat typing text messages on her pink-plated cell phone. The blonde-haired girl wore an expression of sheer boredom, rose-colored nails tapping on the illuminated silver buttons. To her left, Alex absentmindedly tossed a tennis ball into the air, catching it as it fell. On her right, Trevor watched as Blade executed a particularly potent Scratch attack, shattering a melon-sized stone with a single strike. All of our training will pay off, he thought to himself, as the Sandshrew leapt into the air for another attack.

In a far corner, Chester sat back in a chair, headphones over his ears and eyes closed. Looking out over the various Pokemon, he spotted his dark-type partner on a high rafter, leering down on the others as usual. "If only everybody could understa…"

His thoughts were interrupted as he felt a presence near him. Glancing around, he saw Vanessa settle lightly into a seat near him. The fair-skinned girl watched the Pokemon in silence, glancing upward and spotting her Shuppet floating near the ceiling in a dark crevasse. Chester thought back to the conversation the two had shared atop the Ironspine Ridge, as the moon rose from the beyond the desert. What might she have told him if they hadn't been interrupted? There was so much he wanted to know…so many questions. He shifted in his chair, closing his eyes once more and immersing himself in thought. Vanessa watched as the dark-haired boy slumped into the seat, his back to her, and unsure how she should feel.

After class was over, the trainers moved en masse to their rooms, relieved and ready to enjoy their first weekend at the academy. Courtney had fallen asleep in her seat in the stands, and Alex and Trevor had moved to the front row, several seats from one another, while their Pokemon stood before them. The two young men shot glances at each other, locked in an unspoken competition for Courtney's attention.

"You know," said Alex as he bent to tie his shoe, "you don't have a shot with her. She totally likes me more."

At this, Trevor turned angrily, standing before the young man.

"Are you kidding?! Dude, she knows you're weaker than me!" he snapped back, face contorted into a scowl. "I'll prove it to you!" he shouted, snapping a Pokeball from his belt.

Alex did the same, holding the crimson-and-white sphere in his hand, staring heatedly at the silver-haired young man. "If it's a battle you want, you got it!" he shouted. "Go, Tusk!" The ball opened and revealed a Swinub, which exhaled a small snowy gust from its piglike nose. The fur on the Pokemon's domed back began to bristle, and it began to snort angrily.

"Fine, go Blade! Let's go!" Trevor's pokeball opened, exposing an armor-plated Sandshrew. The mouse Pokemon's large brownish-black eyes narrowed at the sight of its trainer's rival, as it took a defensive stance opposite the Swinub.

"Are you sure you really want this?" Trevor asked brashly, waving a lock of hair from his face.

"Oh yeah?" Alex shouted back. "Go Tusk, Tackle attack!"

Obeying its trainer's command, the Ice-type took off at a loping run, gaining speed as it approached the Sandshrew.

"Blade, jump and dodge, then use Sand-Attack when you land!" commanded Trevor, spurring the mouse Pokemon into action. The Sandshrew was barely able to dodge the attack as Tusk charged straight into the spot where Blade had stood moments ago.

"Tusk, use Powder Snow! Hit it in the air!"

"Blade, Defense Curl!"

The Swinub whirled around with surprising speed and exhaled a large cloud of cold air, intermingled with snowflakes and ice particles. The icy attack glimmered in the air as it swept toward the airborne Sandshrew. Blade, hearing Trevor's command, coiled into a tight, armored ball, protecting its body and face from the brunt of the attack. Taking a super-effective attack from the Powder Snow, the rolled-up Sandshrew fell to the ground, but suddenly charged forward, rolling like a ball over the smooth earth of the battlefield.

"Blade, Crush Claw now!" A few feet from Tusk, the Sandshrew suddenly unrolled and, in one fluid motion, leapt into the air, one glowing claw held high.

"Tusk, look out!" shouted Alex, seeing his opponent's strategy unfold before him.

"That's enough!" yelled a new voice, this one deeper and louder, echoing through the empty arena. In the same instant, a flash appeared between the two battling Pokemon, instantly immobilizing them in mid-air. Though there appeared to be nothing between the two Pokemon mere moments before, both trainers became aware of a presence on the battlefield.

A dark brown Pokemon with white markings hovered down from the ceiling, its array of eight eyes glowing a bright blue. Both of the young men identified the Pokemon as a Claydol, a Psychic and Ground-type Pokemon of the ancient world. This one seemed to be utilizing its Psychic abilities to immobilize the two battling Pokemon, each frozen in mid-attack by the telekinetic force. The sound of a door shutting, suddenly jarred their attention to a side wall, where they saw Coach Ratliff striding toward them, a look of anger on his face.

"What were you two doing, holding an unsupervised battle down here? You could have hurt your Pokemon, or just as bad, yourselves! In a moment, I'll have my Claydol release your Pokemon, so that you can recall them. The three of us need to have a little chat."

With that, he nodded to the clay doll Pokemon, which released its telekinetic hold on the two battling Pokemon. Both Tusk and Blade slumped to the ground from the sudden release.

"Return, Tusk," withdrawing the Swinub back into its pokeball.

"Come on back, Blade," said Trevor, doing the same and snapping back onto the clip on his belt.

"I don't know what this was all about," said Coach, his voice stern, "but I'm sure it wasn't something worth battling over. What the two of you have to realize is that you're both here for the same reason, and we can't risk you injuring your Pokemon in an unsupervised battle. Battling, especially without the proper experience and training, can be a very dangerous business. Remember that they are not just your partners, they are the only Pokemon on the planet that can stop the space menace. All seventeen of you, trainers and your Pokemon, need to complete your training before it arrives, regardless of what you think is important now. We have apprentice battle judges if you want to have a practice battle, just see me in my office," he said as he motioned towards a set of double doors through which he had entered. "The two of you need to learn discipline, how to control your emotions. And believe me, you will." The bald man snapped a Pokeball from his belt and withdrew the Claydol as it hovered by his side. "Now you two, take the two side stairwells out of here and back to your rooms, cool off, and don't try a stunt like this again." With that, Coach turned and walked back through the metal doors, bald head gleaming under the arena lights. The two boys made one final glare at each other before entering their respective stairwells. They both silently blamed the other for starting the battle, and that this was only the beginning.

A rumor spread around the tables that night at dinner, hushed whispers that next week will mark the beginning of situational battling in Coach's class. Some trainers looked forward to battling, to test their strength, others anticipated a slow, agonizing week of forced conflict they had no desire to undertake. Professor Fisk had introduced them this week to the concept of type advantage and reviewed the table on the wall, which showed each battling type and its strengths and weaknesses. Soon real Pokemon, many of them belonging to the professor, would be included in the lectures and labs to illustrate this concept. Ms. Lockhart had spent the week introducing them to the various tools and equipment that stocked the infirmary and recovery annexes. Professor Preston was outlining the cities, towns, and landmarks of Otaru, giving interesting facts about each as he moved along. The first week had gone smoothly and rather quickly, the trainers said over their chicken caesar salads and pizza slices, maybe it won't be so bad here at the Academy. By each trainer's side on the floor, their Pokemon ate, some more quietly than others. Ed's Mankey, Twitch, stood and rapped its empty food bowl onto the table in front of its trainer, a satisfied look in its eyes.

Amy whispered to Evelyn, who was sitting next to her, "I wonder how it does that?", drawing a stifled giggle from the blonde-haired girl.

At another table, James and Vince sat at opposite ends and sides, their Pokemon doing the same. James turned and watched his Bagon eating, taking huge mouthfuls of food and chomping loudly, sending crushed bits falling back into the bowl. The dragon Pokemon sensed that he was being watched and glanced upwards at the mohawk-wearing boy, smiling a toothy grin dotted with bits of food.

That's the spirit, Rush, he thought to himself, we'll all see your power soon enough.

Next week will be a good week…


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16 – Thrashmaster

"Magneton, Thunderbolt!" came the command from Mr. Fisk, into the microphone on his desk. The trainers watched eagerly from their seats, watching the magnet Pokemon through the transparent wall. The Magneton's three inorganic eyes narrowed to a focused glare, as a charge quickly began to build on each of its magnetlike appendages. In mere seconds, a large current of yellowish-white electricity surged from the Pokemon, arcing through the room and connecting with a metal bulb at the far end. Though the attack was safely behind panes of thick, protective plastic, the class could see the flow of raw electricity with brutal detail. After a few seconds at full strength, Magneton's attack thinned and flickered out, the metal receiver still crackling and sparking at the far end of the room.

"As you can see, class," said the bespectacled teacher, motioning toward the boxed-in Magneton, "electrical attacks such as Thunderbolt are powerful abilities for those Pokemon able to wield them correctly. However, they also are more difficult to use than some other attacks, due to the nature of the attack. Electrical current, as you know, is the flow of electricity from a place of higher concentration to one of lower concentration. Therefore, the greater the difference in electrical charge between the source and the target, the stronger the current, and the attack, will be. Because of this, electric-typed Pokemon are able to use these types of attacks with greater ease due to the high levels of ambient electricity that are kept in their bodies. This doesn't mean, however, that they first don't need to "charge up", if you will, by collecting ions from the air around them to increase the difference between themselves and their target. You may have observed Magneton collecting energy around its magnets before it was able to launch the attack; it was in fact gathering ions from the atmosphere to create its charge."

The bell, or rather a vaguely musical tone, sounded, signifying the end of class. The students collected their notebooks and stuffed them into backpacks and bags. Over the noise, Professor Fisk told the class that tomorrow they'd be discussing physical Electric attacks. The group filed out of the gleaming white-and-steel lab, traveling in several small groups through the stony, flame-lit corridor. To their left the great expanse of the Annex yawned before them, several floors down and even more above their heads. As they walked the right side of the giant black statue faced them, dominating the center of the room. The fierce gaze on its face nearly made one forget that it was a statue, as it stood on its pedestal, reflecting the fiery torches that glowed before it. Casually they made their way downstairs toward the infirmary, where Ms. Lockhart and her Pokemon awaited their arrival for class.

"This week's classes," began the pink-haired young woman, picking up a box of tools from her desk, "will be spent learning how to groom your Pokemon. Like people, Pokemon must be well-kept, clean, and cared for. In their natural habitats, wild Pokemon will use the methods and objects at their disposal to keep themselves in prime form. Domestic Pokemon such as yours rely on their trainers for maintenance, no longer able to sharpen their claws on a log or bathe in a river when the desire strikes them. It is important to keep your Pokemon in top form by grooming them, performing the tasks that will keep them happy and healthy. The needs of each Pokemon species are different, sometimes changing even as they evolve."

At this, Professor Lockhart stood and took a shoebox-sized plastic container from atop her desk and held it before her.

"Inside this box is an example of some of the tools used in the grooming of various Pokemon species. After we get acquainted with the tools, I'll demonstrate the first of the five grooming disciplines."  
Removing a small Pokeball from her hip, she pressed the button and enlarged it in her hand.

"Go, Sonia!"

With a flash, a shape materialized on the front table. Standing on four slender legs, the form lengthened into a lithe, light-purple body and a long tail with a forked tip. The head bore two fringed ears, large eyes, and a glistening red gem in the center of the forehead. The Pokemon stood nobly before her trainer, tail shifting gently.

"This is Sonia, my Espeon," she said, stroking the psychic Pokemon beneath its chin. "When Sonia was an Eevee, she and I developed a close and personal bond, partly from the unique trainer-Pokemon contact that we gained through grooming. You see, Eevee only become Espeon when they reach a state of absolute happiness with their trainer. Sonia belongs to the first of the five grooming disciplines, the short-fur class. Espeon, like many other species, are covered with a fine coat of soft fur that serves many purposes, including temperature control, camouflage, and markings of status. A gentle brushing with a medium-toothed brush is recommended, as Pokemon in this class occasionally develop knots or clumping in their fur. This knotting is known to cause discomfort and hamper movement, a decided disadvantage, especially in battle."

"Does anybody here have a partner they believe falls into this first category?"

"I think I might," said Ashley, raising her hand high, "I have a Vulpix."

"You're right!" said Ms. Lockhart with a smile, "a Vulpix falls into two categories, this one as well as Class 2, the long-fur class. Why don't you come up here and continue brushing Sonia for me, while I explain the other categories."

Ashley stood, taking the wooden-handled brush from the professor's hand, and began to gently comb the Sun Pokemon's back.

"The second category, as I mentioned, is the Long-Fur class. Pokemon from this group have a greater mass of hair than members of any of the other classes, which enables them to protect the flesh beneath the coat, provide resistance to extreme cold, and make the Pokemon look larger and more imposing to enemies. They require more frequent grooming to protect against knotting and to remove debris that might get stuck in the fur." She withdrew from the box a handheld brush with an array of long plastic teeth. "Using a long-toothed brush like this one should do the trick. Are there any trainers who believe that their partners fall into this category?"  
After a moment of silence, Alex raised his hand grudgingly.

"My partner's a Swinub, does that count?"

"It does indeed," said Ms. Lockhart, waving the young man forward. "Would you mind releasing it for the class, so that we may observe the technique?"

Alex adjusted his beanie and strode to the front of the class, sending out his Swinub as he did so. The pig Pokemon shuffled as the brush was applied, gradually calming under the repeating strokes.

"It looks like he likes it!" exclaimed the pink-haired woman. "The third category is the shell class, which includes all Pokemon with hard nonmineral body armor, thick skin, or exoskeletons. Both rough- and smooth-skinned Pokemon from this group don't suffer from tangled fur, rather, the presence of dust and dirt on the body. These can eventually result in infections from the masking of injury, which are not sensed due to the tough skin. Pokemon from this category tend to prefer a wipe-down with a moist cloth, or in the case of hydrophobic Pokemon, a dry one. Do we have any volunteers for this example?"

"I do," said Nathan, extending his hand in the air.

"Sure, come on up," said the professor, "what species is your partner?"

"He's a Spinarak," commented the lanky boy , releasing the spiderlike Pokemon onto the front table next to the Swinub.

"Ah, I see. He'll enjoy a gentle rubdown with this damp cloth," she said, handing the soft towel to Nathan.

"The fourth discipline of grooming is the Flesh category, which contains the large majority of Pokemon species. The Flesh class contains species that bear some kind of skin or flesh, including plant-based Pokemon and those covered with scales or feathers. Grass-types will grow very fond of the use of a wet towel, as it removes dirt and grime from their body, aiding in their use of photosynthesis. It also moisturizes their body, keeping them well-hydrated. Birdlike Pokemon must be treated especially carefully, as their feathers serve a variety of functions, not the least of which is flight, and can be easily damaged. A gentle washing with a moist cloth will often do the trick, being sure to be wary of sore spots or injuries. Would anyone like to volunteer?"

James stood, a confident sneer on his face. "I can do this one," he said, snapping his pokeball off of his belt. "Go, Rush!"

The Bagon materialized atop the table, flashing its toothy grin as it did so. James grabbed a moist rag and began to groom the Dragon type.

"Very good, James. We'll now move on to the final grooming group, the Mineral class.

"Mineral Pokemon include many Rock, Ground, and Steel-type Pokemon, as well as some others. Though their bodies may seem inorganic, many are in fact clad in living armor which is derived from the mineral content they consume. Because much of it is organic, living flesh, it be treated with more care than may be apparent. As many rock- and ground- type Pokemon are damaged by contact with water, it is advised that such Pokemon are cleaned with a dry, harsh-textured cloth or rag. Steel-types with smooth metallic surfaces can be wiped with a soft cloth. Any volunteers?"

Del stood and said "I'll do it, Professor."

Sending out Slate, he began to scrub the Geodude with a rough cloth.

A short time later class ended and the students emptied into the hall.

"You know what's next," Evelyn said to Ashley as the trainers made their way downstairs, "battle practice."

"I think it'll be fun," said Ashley brightly, her thoughts wandering to the Pokeball in the drawstring bag on her shoulder. "I wonder how Coach Ratliff is going to start our battle training…what do you think, Summer?"

The blonde-haired girl shrugged, adjusting her bag. "I hope he doesn't have us fighting each other, that would be totally un-cool."

"Seriously," said Amy, catching up to the girls from behind. "I wonder how our Pokemon will handle being able to battle."

"Remember Ed's Mankey while we were in the jungle?" asked Ashley. "It sure seemed strong, I hope I don't have to battle against it."

"I'm looking forward to it," said Amy quietly, to herself.

An air of anticipation mingled with uneasiness filled the room as the students filed into the stadium seats next to the battlefield. The lights above their heads no longer illuminated the quadrant of the seats where they assembled for class. Instead, the large, intensely bright lights mounted on the ceiling above the battlefield, effectively banishing the darkness from a large portion of the large room. With a bang the doors on the far side of the room opened, and Coach Ratliff entered. Under one arm he held a plastic container the size of a shoebox. Beneath the other he clutched a large figure that resembled a human torso made of a cloth-like material and mounted on stout wooden stand.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17 – Emergence Resurgence

"Spirit, get out of the way! Quick Attack!" shouted Amy, spurring the tiny sparrow Pokemon into action. The Flying type flapped its wings urgently and burst forward, a streak of translucent white vapor trailing behind it as it sped through the narrow window of light. Half a second later, the Geodude's coiled stone fist struck the earth, mere inches separating the impact from the fleeing bird.

"Excellent, both of you," said Coach, scribbling on his clipboard. "Del, your Geodude shows quite a lot of speed for its species, but it wasn't enough to keep up with that Quick Attack. All the same, nicely done." He looked down at his board again. "Alright, next we have…James and Vince. Gents, take your places."

James strode confidently down onto the packed-earth battlefield, his shaved head gleaming under the bright lights. At the same time, Vince walked slowly to the far end, his right hand clutching a chipped Pokeball. Coach took his position near the center line dividing the halves of the field, board at the ready. "You may begin when you are ready. Show us what you can do."

Without hesitation, James raised a sparkling crimson-and-silver ball from his hand, gently throwing it upward and catching it on his extended index finger, the sphere spinning effortlessly on his fingertip. The Dragon-type trainer flashed his signature grin before catching the ball and throwing it onto the field. The two halves parted and released a glowing red form, forming into a somewhat bulky, raptorlike Pokemon. The light-blue Bagon cracked his neck, swinging his armored head side to side, then locking eyes with Vince across the arena, a toothy smile parting his lips. Vince looked at the muscular reptilian pokemon and tossed his own Pokeball forward, the energy inside pouring forth onto the ground. The creature that emerged was plated in metallic armor, a stocky quadruped not unlike a small dinosaur. The Aron settled on the field opposite of Bagon, its icy blue left eye juxtaposed against its blood-red right one.

"Go Rush, charge him! Headbutt!" James shouted, as the Bagon lunged forward with surprising speed. Vince merely shrugged and stated, "Tackle."

The Aron ran forward to meet the speedier Dragon-type head on, the Rock/Steel monster's sturdiness negating much of the impact as bone and metal collided. The two Pokemon were forced back an equal distance, both attacks offset. The Bagon growled at Chrome, the Aron glaring intently back at its opponent.

"Go after him, Rush! Send him running with Ember!" James sneered, picking on the steel-type's weakness. Almost immediately, the light-blue dragon's maw was brimming with small flames, which it exhaled in a flurry all over the Aron, who was too slow to dodge.

"Chrome, no! Harden! Tackle!" Vince gave his orders, but he knew he was beaten. Chrome weakly tried to charge at the Bagon, who stood just out of reach of the last-ditch lunge, a wide toothy grin on its face. The Aron, its armor blackened and its strength failing, slumped to the ground. Rush, in an act not unlike its brash trainer, placed one foot atop the fallen Steel type, threw its head back, and let out as loud a victory roar as its modest body could muster.

"Let him know who the boss is, Rush." James said, his trademark smile creeping across his face.

Collecting the remaining embers in its mouth into a single, tiny fireball, Rush spat the flaming mass squarely onto Chrome's pinned flank, the Aron shrieking in pain. Vince couldn't believe this overt act; even in this most basic battle exercise, James and his Bagon were showboating. It was more than he could stand.

"Get off of him! Call him back, James!" Vince shouted, striding quickly toward his Aron as Rush took a step back.

"Heh, no way, man," the mohawked trainer replied with a sneer, walking toward the center of the battlefield toward them. "We won and you lost. Sorry, chump, but that's how we work."

Vince took another couple strides toward the tall young man, standing eye-to-eye with him only a few feet separating them. "Yeah? Then I'll have to show you how I work."

The black-haired young man strode even closer and shoved James hard, the dragon trainer recoiling a few steps before charging angrily back and jostling Vince back. The animosity between the two trainers was escalating quickly, pushes and hands being exchanged at an increasingly rapid pace.

"That's enough, you two!" shouted Coach, the big man charging in to separate the angry young men. "You're both in need of serious work on your personal conduct while in battle. Emotions running high are a feature of most exchanges, but two trainers should never come to blows over the result."

James took a step back, his smile returned. "It's cool, sir. I forgive him," he said in the driest and most mocking tone he could. Vince was still fuming over having been embarrassed in front of everyone by this…purebred Dragon tamer! 'He wouldn't know a real fight if it…', he thought to himself. He turned sharply, away from James and Coach Ratliff, and stormed from the room, the injured Chrome charging after him through the double doors.

Vince did not stop until he had returned to his chambers and slammed the door as soon as Chrome entered behind him. He was furious that his premier battle in front of these other kids was so…pitiful. He hurled his backpack against the far wall, the already damaged pack slumping to the floor with a thud. The young man let out a series of profane phrases, the likes of which were too numerous and filthy to repeat. When finally he paused, breathing hard and red in the face from his fervor, he noticed that Chrome was trying to get to his feet, despite its burns. Vince knew what it was trying to do, and reached over to his desk. Pulling a worn CD player from the desk, the device began to play an upbeat jazz rhythm, horns, bass, and brushes on drums singing in time. Almost instantly, both Pokemon and trainer grew calm, the relaxing tune easing their wounds, both physical and emotional. Sufficiently becalmed, Vince reached into his backpack and withdrew a tattered rag, torn with use. He spread Chrome's small towel on the ground, and the singed Steel type readily settled onto it. The young man then withdrew a half-used bottle of Super Potion from his pack.

"You did what you could, Chrome," he said to the Aron, as it winced under the spray of the Potion. "You followed my orders like a real trooper, and you held your cool too. You're a lot better than that tool we had to fight, buddy. He just got lucky, huh?" The Aron nodded, letting out a short, barking growl indicating his agreement. Vince closed his eyes for a moment, allowing his rage to be lost in the music, the bright horns and deep bass chilling his hot blood. He was still angry about the loss to James, but he would not allow it to trouble him further today. Next time would be different, he promised himself.

Later, after Chrome had fallen asleep on his blanket while recovering from his wounds, Vince lay on his bed thinking how odd it was for him, a street punk from Olivine, to be here at all. He hadn't attended school for years, learning all he needed to survive through his friends, his brothers in the gang.

'These kids don't know nothing about surviving, nothing about fighting. I've fought all my life just to stay alive, sleeping in garages, eating what I could steal. You can't trust anyone in this world…no one but yourself.'

He looked down at the Aron, who was sleeping peacefully on his towel. His wounds were healing already, the naturally-generated iron plates covering his body made Chrome one tough egg to crack.

'Chrome is all I've got…and I can't trust any of these other brats either. I've gotta go it alone if I'm gonna survive here. I'll prove to all of them just how tough I can be.'

Vince sighed, and stared at the ceiling. "I don't belong here," he said to the stuccoed sandstone above.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Brick Wall

"Ah-hahaha!" James cackled, throwing his head back as he strode down the deserted hallway. Rush, walking alongside his master, smiled his trademark toothy grin, clearly glad that he had done well to demonstrate his strength. "I can't believe how easy that was! Rush, they can't touch us!"

"Ba-bagon!" came the reply, enthusiastic and croaking from the raptorlike Dragon.

"That's right, you've got it. Just wait until we tear everyone up at practice tomorrow! Oh, it will be SO sweet!" He was quiet for a moment, the sound of boots and claws on the dark tile reverberating down the pathway. "Did you see how the girls were checking me out, Rush? They can't get enough."

"Baaa-gon!" responded the bipedal dragon, a wry smile revealing his interlocking, sharply pointed teeth.

"Let's go chill for the rest of the night, man. We sure deserved it, huh?" Together, the dragon and his master continued onward, ready for anything.

The next day, Coach continued pitting the trainers in one-on-one, supervised battles. However, today they were isolated, two trainers on each half of the packed-earth battlefield, two matches at a time. The style was like that of a tournament, designed to adapt each trainer's style and strength to fighting many different threats. In the first round, James was matched up with Brian, the quiet boy from outside Celadon City. The mohawked trainer shook his head as he beheld his opponent across the ring, standing reluctantly in the trainers box opposite him. The signal was given to begin combat, and Rush emerged from his pokeball, teeth gnashing and ready for battle. Brian sent out his partner, a limber Bellsprout he called Roots.

"Light him up, Rush! Ember attack!" ordered James without hesitation. The Bagon lunged forward on muscular legs, its head low as flames gathered in its mouth. Sharply raising its head with intensity burning in its eyes, it exhaled the burning cinders at the willowy Grass-type, who was barely able to dive out of the way.

"Roots, dodge him! It's a Fire attack!" Brian shouted. Never before had the young man been forced into battle, and his inexperience was clear against James' aggressive Bagon. "Grass Knot attack!" Roots bent over backward, using one broad leaf to balance itself, and swung a rapidly lengthening rootlike leg in a wide arc, snagging Rush by the ankle and pulling it off its feet. The Bagon hit the ground with a thud, its eyes immediately snapping open and, fire in its eyes, clambered to its feet with a growl. James was infuriated by the attack, just as much as his partner.

"Drop it, Rush!" he yelled, growing angrier by the second, "snap it in half!" With fury the blue dragon leapt head-first onto the Grass/Poison hybrid, its thick skull contacting with Roots' bell-shaped head and stunning it instantly. The Bellsprout wavered on its feet, in no condition to fight. James, however, would not be denied his victory.

"Fire Fang."

Without so much as a flinch the bipedal dragon lunged forward, its mouth immediately wavering with heat. Before Roots could react Rush locked its muscular jaws around its opponent's willowy body, the intense heat quickly singing the Grass type.

"James, let it go!" shouted Brian desperately, but the cocky Dragon Tamer merely sneered at him. "You win, just let him go!" begged Brian, watching Roots hang limply from Rush's jaws. The Bagon swung its head savagely side to side, inflicting heavy damage to the barely-conscious grass-type. Suddenly, a tan blur propelled itself across the sideline and collided solidly with Rush, sending it rolling and knocking Roots free from its cruel maw. Landing like a rag doll, Bellsprout lay still as Brian rushed to his side, while Coach ran to fetch the medical staff. Brian had tears in his eyes as he lifted Roots, covered in burns and bruises, and holding the Grass-type close to his body, glared at James with eyes that expressed hurt beyond any he had yet experienced in his life. He carried the semiconscious Bellsprout to the seating area, where several of the other trainers joined him in an effort to ease the Pokemon's pain. Meanwhile, Rush staggered to its feet, and looking back onto the battlefield, found himself being stared down by Blade, Trevor's Sandshrew. The mouse pokemon's silver-haired trainer was behind it, clearly angered by the Bagon's, and its trainer's, actions.

"Dude, what are you thinking? You're insane if you think you should winning that big against him, stomping him like that. You want a real fight? Come up against us, we'll put your purebred training to the test! Rollout, Blade!"

"Rrrrew!" growled the armadillo-like Pokemon as it ran forward a few steps, coiled into a tight, armored ball, and rolled rapidly toward the Bagon. Caught off-guard, the Dragon-type froze in its tracks.

"Dodge it, Rush! Drop the hammer on it with Headbutt!"

On command, the Bagon sidestepped the spinning Ground-type, then lowered its armored skull as its opponent changed direction and charged back toward it. The attacks collided, as Rush stumbled back a number of steps and Blade was sent airborne, still in its spheric form.

"Sand-Attack, Blade", commanded Trevor coolly.

The Sandshrew snapped open in midair, releasing a cloud of sand and grit from its underbelly as it unfurled. The attack landed squarely on Rush, who growled with frustration and swiped furiously at its eyes, trying to clear them of the foreign bodies. Just as it got one eye clean, however, Blade was already charging him, and struck hard with a rising Scratch attack to the body. Wincing at the attack and knocked slightly into the air, the Bagon heard the command came from Trevor: "Finish him." Without missing a beat, the Ground-type mouse leapt and met Rush in midair, grabbing the Dragon with its strong forelimbs, and driving it solidly into the ground. As the dust settled, James' cocky partner lay defeated, and its opponent issued a piercing, growling screech of victory. Trevor stood behind his Sandshrew, arms crossed and a highly confident grin on his face.

James gritted his teeth, anger building quickly in him for having lost so easily to this…common opponent. He snapped Rush's pokeball from his waist and withdrew the blue Dragon, absolutely humiliated before the assembly of the class. Though next to nobody was actually watching him, being more preoccupied with comforting Brian and his Bellsprout, he still felt the burning sensation of defeat, the feeling that his forefathers had striven so hard to eliminate from their lives. Feeling only the need to escape, he stomped from the room, his enraged glare locking with Trevor's until he passed him and exited through the tall double doors. Almost as soon as he left the room, however, he found himself face-to-face with Professor Lockhart, who was carrying a satchel of medical supplies and wore a look of concern. She strode past James as if not even seeing him, and rushed into the battlefield chamber. As James turned back toward the hallway mid-stride, a pair of terribly strong hands clutched his jacket front and shoved him against the darkened wall. The young man was frozen, realizing that the restraining hands belonged to Coach Ratliff, as the bulky, bald man pinned him against the wall.

"What you did out there was…unacceptable. I will NOT tolerate that kind of brutality in my class, especially with your fellow students!" His voice was harsh, and his words were spat through clenched teeth. James could tell just how much Coach was trying to hold back his rage, even now he was holding him aloft against the wall.

"This goes far beyond you, my friend," Coach said in a growling voice, "you are here to learn how to save the planet. The WHOLE WORLD is counting on you and your classmates in there, to stop something that threatens the ENTIRE EARTH. If any one of you gets hurt, we are all doomed. I really hope I'm getting through to you, son, because your actions may well have cost the entire planet its fighting chance."

Coach relaxed his grip and let James' feet slide to the floor. Turning without another word, he walked back down the hall, entering the room and leaving James alone in the darkened corridor. In that moment the message sank into the Dragon Trainer, just how much they mean in this fight, this war. He was left stunned, unable to move, even his trademark grin wiped from his face by the sweeping reaction of what he had just orchestrated. He snapped the ball from his hip and held the metallic sphere in the flickering firelight of the torch sconce on the wall.

"We've got a lot to learn, Rush," he said to the ball, and to the wounded Dragon within. James' icy blue eyes gleamed in the torchlight. "Both of us."


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19: Lend the Light

"Finally, we're free!" Evelyn excitedly thought to herself as the bell rang on the day's last class. The weekend had arrived, only their second since the group had arrived at Ironspine Academy. Today, however was special; the grounds surrounding the school had finally been opened to the students, and Evelyn and her friends were going for a casual walk in the afternoon warmth. As usual, Summer, Ashley, and Amy had gathered outside the classroom, waiting for her to join them. Together, the four girls returned to the dorms, relieved themselves of their books, and, the clique reformed, made for the Nexus Lobby, and liberation from the sandstone complex.

Exiting through the same long, tiled corridor that they had entered through a fortnight ago, the four girls walked casually to the far end of the hallway. As the heavy stone doors pulled back under mechanical force, searing sunlight poured into the comparatively shady hall, forcing the trainers to squint against its intensity. After a few moments, Evelyn's eyes adjusted to the glare and she led the way out into the rolling dunes surrounding the school. The day had been hot, but now in the midafternoon sun the heat of the day was just starting to drain away. The desert descended rapidly into chilly nights with the daily passing of the sun, so they had chosen this time as the ideal to have their stroll. Ashley trotted ahead, climbing a gentle dune with ease, and looked out over the surrounding area.

"That's the border, right?" she asked Evelyn, who was closest to her. Ashley pointed out, towards a sporadic line of boulders that lay in a wide arc, ringing the campus in a quarter-mile radius.

"Yep, that's it. They said we couldn't go further than that…"

"Aw, that's lame." Amy walked up, joining the two girls atop the dune. "I remember when we were coming in here, we passed a big stand of rocks, all full of caves! There's nothing out here but sand, we should go over there!"

Evelyn looked out toward the west, the rocky formations barely visible in the heat haze rippling from the sand. She put her hand to her brow and squinted, they couldn't be more than a half-mile out, she thought.

She looked at Amy, who was practically bouncing with excitement, and sighed. "Alright, we'll go. But we've got to be careful, we could get caught if we're gone for too long."

Amy and Ashley led the way towards the sporadic line of boulders, with Summer close behind, an amused smile on her face. Evelyn brought up the rear of the group, wiping the droplets forming on her brow with the edge of her bandanna. She was never one to break the rules, but she just couldn't say no to her new friend's enthusiasm. A slight smile crossed her lips, somewhat enjoying the newfound freedom that the last two weeks had brought her. She increased her stride, quickly catching up with the rest of the loping group.

It took them barely five minutes to reach the stone border, even with the heat of the slowly fading day beating down. Once there, they took their first tentative steps toward the massive stones, checking the crannies and crevasses for trip lines or an electronic fence. Evelyn was sure that such a perimeter defense would trigger, but even as they moved beyond the rocks, no alarm sounded. Not wanting to be the wet blanket, she let the thought drop from her mind, and tailed along after her friends. Within minutes, they had left the campus behind, and had arrived at a large, low plateau, the top dotted with jutting towers of stone. The face shielded from the wind had a smooth, lazy slope of sand leaning up to the flattened summit of the formation. The surprisingly large area up here was larger than it appeared, but undaunted, the girls ascended the gentle dune and reached the level surface above. Evelyn looked out over the desert beyond, from this height the view was far clearer than back by the Academy. It's so pretty out here, she thought, the sun above just giving a hint of waning and casting ever-lengthening shadows from the dunes below. Suddenly, Amy shouted, "Hey, look! Birds in the trees!"

The three girls joined the brown-haired trainer at the western face of the plateau, and followed her pointing finger toward a stand of stunted trees about a fifty feet away. Flitting among the branches were a small flock of Natu, the brightly-colored Psychic/Flying types settling in for the night.

"Natu! They're pretty rare, and we don't see too many of 'em, even in Fortree City." Amy watched the avian Pokemon with wonder. "Miss Winona used to have one that lived in her garden, but that was a long time ago. They can fly, but they're slow and like to stay on the ground during the day. At night, they go to sleep in the trees, so they can be safe."

"I don't blame them," said Summer, "at their size, they could get in serious trouble at night on the ground. That's really cool, Amy."

"Yeah, like an Onix!" chimed in Ashley, opening her arms wide in parody of the Rock Snake's massive jaws. "Ka-chomp!" Summer chuckled to herself at the thought.

Evelyn spoke up, her voice lowered as if frightened. "Aren't they…Psychic types?"

Amy smiled, "Yeah, they learn more Psychic attacks when they evolve, though. They can't do much now with their powers all small."

Despite the small size and cute features of the flitting Natu, Evelyn couldn't bear being this close to them. She turned and walked towards the far end of the plateau, trying to slow her racing pulse without bringing her phobia to bear in front of the other girls. As she looked up from the ground, she caught a dark shape out of the corner of her eye. Looking back, she noticed that it was in fact the gaping mouth of a cave, the interior draped in shadow. In an effort to prove herself in the eyes of the group, she called out to the girls.

"Hey, check this out, it's a cave!"

Ashley was the first to her side, peering intently into the darkness. "Yep, it's a cave alright, but I can't tell how big it is. It's too dark to see beyond right here…" She bent and picked up a small rock, and tossed the stone into the center of the yawning opening. The stone clacked in the darkness, skipping to a stop a short distance inside. In the dark confines, no other movement could be heard in the pitch blackness. Even as Summer and Amy approached curiously, only the wind could be heard.

"Sounds safe enough to me. Go, Rie!" said Evelyn confidently, proud that she had diverted their attention from the psychic birds. With the command and the release of her Pokeball, the fluffy electric sheep materialized in front of the assembled group. "Use your Flash attack, Rie, to help us see in here." "Ree reep!" responded Rie cheerfully, and raised her striped tail to its full height. Evelyn and her Mareep took the first few tentative steps into the stubborn darkness, as the gold sphere adorning the tip of the Electric type's tail began to glow with a brilliant light, radiating in all directions. Carefully, the three girls followed behind, sticking close behind the glowing tail. The walls of the cave were rough, and the floor was covered by a very thin layer of sand. Clusters of small rocks were littered everywhere, and the group had to be careful not to lose their footing. They worked their way through the cavern for several minutes, inching forward as the path ahead was proven safe. Some sixty feet into the cave, however, a strong stench wafted past, a musty odor like wet leather and rotten meat. Slowing their pace further, they found the source of the foul smell: the remains of a Numel, what remained of its flesh clinging to bones dried by exposure. Beneath the corpse lay a puddle of hardened magma, a black dusty spot all that remained of the creature's internal lava sac.

"Oh, that's terrible!" said Ashley with concern, her voice hushed somewhat. "I dealt with Numel all the time back home, they're adorable! I hope it wasn't in pain when…"

"I'm sure it wasn't, Ashley," Summer said kindly, "it looks like an old one that lived a long life. It's not in any pain anymore."

Evelyn, however, was disturbed by the discovery for another reason. "It's really unlikely that a Numel would leave its herd like this and go this far into a cave so far from the ground level to…die." She took a deep breath, trying to avoid the stench of the remains nearby. "Something might have brought it here."

Amy and Summer suddenly grew serious, suddenly aware of the situation they may have brought themselves into. Evelyn looked further into the cave as far as the light reached, and even that could not pierce the gloom. "We've got to get out of here," she said in a tense, quiet tone, "as quickly and quietly as possible." The four girls had not taken five paces toward the cave entrance before a scuttling noise was audible behind them. A hollow scraping, like bone on hewn rock, reached Evelyn's ears, her every instinct telling to flee through the utter darkness ahead. Rie was struggling to keep up with the humans, and her light was flickering as she burned energy charging with all haste after her master. Suddenly, a hissing shriek issued from behind them, and the enemy finally became visible: a massive Drapion, an armored insectlike Pokemon with powerful claws and a deadly sting, clambering over rock piles in its pursuit of the group of girls.

"Run! Get outside now!" shouted Evelyn as she looked back at the ferocious Ogre Scorp pokemon bearing down on them. Ashley, with her track-star foot speed, found the mouth of the cave first, followed soon after by Amy and Summer. Evelyn, a mere five paces in front of the Drapion with Rie by her side, suddenly turned and faced the monstrous scorpion. "Flash, Rie!" she shouted, and the yellow sheep released a blinding blast of light from its bulbous tail, disorienting the huge Poison type and forcing it back several steps. It swung one claw to its face in an effort to protect its eyes from the glaring glow, and swiped at Rie with the other, barely missing the Mareep. "Let's go, Rie!" shouted Evelyn, and escaped into the fading sunlight with her partner beside her. Between her panting breaths, she could swear she could still hear the Drapion hissing and clacking in the darkness.

"Think it'll come after us out here?" Ashley asked, barely winded by their flight from the cavern. She looked back with fear at the dark opening.

"I…I think we're safe," said Amy, glancing towards Evelyn.

As if in reaction to her words, the Drapion burst from the cave with a shrieking roar, landing in the middle of the four girls. Without hesitation it swung a heavy claw at a nearby rock wall, sending a cascade of boulders crashing down and barricading the path down the sloping dune, cutting off any escape. Bordered on three sides by sheer cliffs and the stone wall, the four classmates were cornered by the powerful Poison type.

Evelyn looked up at the rearing ogre scorpion, terrified of the thought of combat with something armed with so many weapons. To her right, Ashley released her Vulpix in a sudden flash. "Mystic, give it a Flamethrower!" The vulpine pokemon leapt forward without fear and let loose a streaming blast of flame directly at the Drapion's head. The Poison/Dark hybrid hissed menacingly and raised a claw in defense of the fire attack, the flames licking its armored body with little effect. In a motion too rapid to react to, it suddenly brought its venomous tail forward, the strike wounding the Vulpix and sending it tumbling to the side. With one opponent down by its trademark Cross Poison attack, Drapion turned its attention to Evelyn and her Mareep, who stood defiantly before it. "Nobody, but nobody, goes after my friends," she thought to herself. She knew what must be done.

"Rie, Cotton Spore attack!" With practiced effort, the Electric type released a billowing cloud of fine, fluffy wool from its thick coat. The interwoven material settled quickly all over the Drapion, getting caught in the joints of its armored exoskeleton and slowing its movement. With a shrieking hiss, the giant scorpion swung its armored claw forward with surprising speed and snatched the yellow sheep right off the ground. Rie yelped weakly as the vicelike claws held her body helpless. "Rie, no!" Evelyn cried, desperate to free her partner from the potentially fatal grip of the massive Drapion. "Use Discharge, now!"

Even caught in the crushing pincer of a far larger foe, Rie heard her master's command. Focusing every ounce of static electricity that her wooly coat had accumulated, Rie's tail bulb glowed a brilliant whitish gold. "Reeeeeeeee!" cried the Mareep, and released the massive charge into the arm of the Drapion, the flickering bolt sending thick arcs of power through the body of her insect foe. The Poison type hissed with pain as the charge coursed through its body, disrupting the very firings of its nervous system. No longer able to control its own joints, the Drapion convulsed and its claws snapped open, releasing the captive Mareep. Evelyn rushed to Rie's side as the electric sheep offered her equivalent to a grin. The massive scorpion, one arm dangling powerlessly, shrieked furiously before retreating back into its cave.

Rie stood on wobbling legs, so proud of her victory that she failed to notice the weakness of her own limbs. The Discharge released the entirety of her stored electrical power, and such a massive transfer of energy from her body had drastically weakened her. As Evelyn stood beside her, she laid down, using the opportunity to recuperate from the battle.

Amy walked up, her concern clear. "Is she going to be ok? She must be pretty worn out."

Evelyn smiled and petted the pokemon's wooly coat. "She'll be fine…her coat protected her from a lot of the crushing power. After she regains some of her energy, she'll be just fine."

"I wish you could say the same for this Vulpix," said Summer quietly, from the far side of the plateau.

Evelyn looked over and saw Ashley and Summer kneeling beside the weak fire fox. She was on her back, a pretty ugly-looking gash crossing her stomach where the Drapion's tail had struck her. Even from standing height, she could see a green splash on the side of the wound: the venom of the Drapion's tail, among the most dangerous in the world if not treated with all haste. She would not survive the walk back to the Academy in this condition, even inside her Pokeball the poison would continue to sap her strength. Without any proper supplies, Evelyn would have to rely on her training from years of watching her parents on the family farm. She turned to Amy, her voice calm and serious. "I need you to find me the leaves of the Pecha plant. You won't find any berries on it at this time of year, but the leaves will be able to slow the poison enough to make it back to school."

Amy nodded, and pulled the Pokeball from her belt. "Go, Spirit!" Within moments, the high-strung Taillow had fluttered to the ground in front of her trainer, chirping happily. "Help me find some Pecha leaves, Spirit, this is serious." The tiny bird Pokemon, sensing her master's sincerity, immediately took to the skies in search of the Pecha plant, as Amy followed behind on foot.

The search party set in motion, Evelyn next turned to Summer, who looked with concern at the semiconscious Vulpix. "Summer, can you go to my bag and grab my water bottle? We've got to clean this wound up a bit before we can apply the antidote."

"Got it, just let me know what I can do to help," said Summer, her eyes hopeful.

Ashley remained with her fallen partner, cradling the fire fox's head in her lap. "What can I do, Evelyn? What can I do for Mystic?"

Evelyn looked at the girl, and could see the tears welling in her eyes. "You're doing what you should, Ash. She needs your support, and to feel that we're going to help save her. Your input is more valuable than any of ours."

Ashley managed a small smile at this, even as the first of her tears streaked her face.

Summer returned with the fresh water, and held the bottle at the ready. Evelyn, reluctant though it was, removed her seafoam bandana and, moistening it with the clear water, began to carefully clean the wound. She issued a great sigh of relief upon discovering the injury to be little more than a scratch, but the clearing of the venom from the site was the main priority. After removing most of the poison in and around the wound, Evelyn tore the soiled section from her bandana and discarded it, and used the remaining fabric to dress the wound. Keeping it covered would prevent any sand or infectious agents from getting in before the medicinal herbs arrived. In a matter of minutes, Amy and Spirit ran back to the plateau, the girl's arms clutching an immistakable bouquet of Pecha boughs. After letting the juice from the leaves seep into the injury, she redressed the wound. With her dirty-blond hair loosed to the wind and her face streaked with dirt, Evelyn stood at last as Ashley cradled Mystic in her arms. The Vulpix had fallen into a shallow sleep, but was no longer wincing as the venom coursed through its veins. The sun was falling rapidly and a colorful sunset was spreading through the sky.

"Alright, everybody ready? We've got to get back to school before nightfall, for Mystic's sake, as well as our own. You all did great, and we might not have been able to save her if it weren't for your help. Let's get going before it gets too dark to see."

The four girls started on their path back to the Academy, the huge stone building clearly visible against the painted sky. They made the trip back without incident, and Ms. Lockhart was able to fully recuperate Mystic from her injury. Back in her room at last, Evelyn flipped the switch on and winced in the sudden light. She looked at herself in the mirror, her hair uncovered and wild from the breeze, her face dirty and streaked with sweat. It reminded her of home, the harvest, her family. Suddenly, the light above burned out, plunging the entire windowless room into pitch darkness. Evelyn threw back her head and let out a bloodcurdling scream, standing alone in the dark room.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Menagerie

"And another thing! You never take that hat off! What's under there anyway?" Trevor reached his hand forward, trying to snatch the blue beanie from Alex's head. Alex angrily clutched the wool cap down on his head, and smacked the silver-haired trainer's hand away, then shoved him a few steps backward. "Knock it off, man, I can see why she thinks you suck." He turned to face the door in front of which both young men stood. "Don't mess this up for me."

Meanwhile, in her gently-lit room, Courtney sleepily stumbled toward her desk. She could hear the two guys arguing in the hallway, as usual. Even in the relative gloom of the chamber, she could see her hair disheveled from sleep. She squinted into the mirror in the dim light. "Ugh…I look like hell. Like I slept on the floor." Standing in her pallid silk nightgown, she inspected her magnificence from head-to-toe in the mirror, looking for any signs of flaw. Satisfied, Courtney sat and began brushing her hair, flowing and golden like harvest wheat. Turning to reach a box from a shelf, she knocked a bottle of perfume from the desk in front of her. She let out a sigh, accompanied by a coy smile, and picked up the fallen flask from the carpet. From there, she went through her routine: face wash, antiwrinkle cream, lotions and oils of various purpose. Rolling her eyes as the noise in the hall intensified momentarily, she stood and stepped out of the semitransparent garment, picking up a whitish-grey silk skirt she had picked up during her last trip to Slateport City. Sliding her slender legs into the skirt she turned back to her closet, eying the rainbow of shirts carefully. After pulling out two or three she decided on a cute pink top, one that fit nicely around her shapely upper body. She undid the first two buttons, knowing full well how it drove Alex and Trevor crazy. She brushed her teeth in the tiny in-room sink, her brilliant smile bright even in the lamplight. Finally, she turned to the mirror and carefully applied her makeup, being sure that every last lash was lined, every fault masked. She recalled Princess, who was sleeping in her fur-lined bed on the floor by the bed, into her ball and stowed it in her bag. With a final flourish she stepped into her stylish sandals and walked to the door, opening it wide and catching the two boys outside flatfooted.

Trevor and Alex immediately ceased their bickering as Courtney stepped out of the room. In their eyes, her radiance was so effortless, it was heartbreaking. Courtney strode confidently down the hallway, the two young men flanking her closely behind.

"What do we have today?" she asked to the boys, without turning back.

"Just Battle Training," replied Trevor without hesitation, as if he had been anticipating the question. Courtney's attention snapped to the Luxury Ball in her bag, her mind suddenly recalling her partner sleeping within.

"Lovely. At least we don't have to sit through another pointless lesson with Dr. Science today. Let's go though, you guys are holding me up."

"A Meowth? Seriously?" Courtney looked disdainfully at the house pokemon she had selected at random from the tray of pokeballs. The feline pokemon looked back at her curiously, large eyes glimmering under the lights.

"That's the one you chose, Courtney," Coach replied, clipboard in hand. "Now, send out your partner and, together with this Meowth, you must defeat this target." He motioned with his chin, pointing toward the canvas-and-wood torso standing at mid-field. Courtney sighed and rolled her eyes, reluctantly enlarging the black-and-yellow Luxury Ball in her right hand.

Courtney shifted her eyes to the side, toward the seats where the rest of the Class watched her motions. She fired an effortlessly sultry glance at Trevor and Alex, the two boys visibly reacting to the look as if they had been physically touched. "Too easy," she thought to herself with a slight smirk, and raised her pokeball high with a grand motion. Hurling the ball gently forwards, she called out to her partner, "Dance, Princess!" On command, the ball split and released a shimmering cloud of silver particles and rosy-colored heart-shaped energy. At the center of the sparkling effects, a Pokemon stood proudly; a Skitty, with immaculately brushed fur, flawlessly pink on her back and cream underneath. Standing on four slender legs, the feline pokemon held her head and tail high, fully aware of her condition. After a few moments, the decal effects faded and Princess turned back to her master, as if to ask why it had been disturbed.

"Princess, go get that target, or whatever." Courtney ordered unenthusiastically, motioning toward the dummy halfway across the field. The Skitty turned towards the target, then at the Meowth sitting on its haunches a few yards away, than back at Courtney. Realizing that she must be serious, Princess began casually striding toward the dummy. The room was silent as the rosy feline calmly walked, its eyes focused on the target. Stopping about two yards away, Princess turned back to Courtney and mewed, apparently still unclear as to whether it was actually supposed to attack.

"Yes, I mean it! Tackle attack!"

Princess turned and charged the last five feet towards the dummy, her body, slender as it was, propelling her with surprising speed, and bounding into a jumping pounce. The Normal-type feline struck the target with all that she had, yet the target barely moved. Princess growled and leapt again, another clean hit, and again the dummy refused to budge. The Skitty took the brunt of the impact and stumbled as she landed, ruffling her fur slightly but otherwise leaving her unharmed.

Instantly spotting the patch of disturbed fur atop Princess' head, Courtney gasped. "Princess, make a Wish!"

The Skitty tilted her head skyward and, parting her mouth slightly with a faint mewing sound, released a burst of bluish-white particles upward. The glowing particulates rose towards the ceiling, as all eyes in the room followed them. The cloud suddenly condensed into a single sphere, about the size of a tennis ball, and streaked with incredible acceleration upward, phasing through the steel struts of the ceiling effortlessly. The Meowth, who had to this point waited patiently for Courtney's command, was transfixed by the glowing orb and let out a stifled meow. The blonde trainer's attention was drawn back to the scratch cat by the noise, having entirely forgotten about the pokemon until now.

"Oh right, you. Go do something. Princess, wait for the Wish to come true."

At that, the Meowth stood up and bounded on four legs toward the target, extending the sharp claws hidden in the pads of its front legs as it prepared to attack. Courtney saw what the feline Pokemon was doing, and shouted, "Princess, Pound it!"

"Nnnnyaa!" growled the Skitty as it took off at a surprisingly rapid pace, catching up to the Meowth as it pounced at the target and swung her tail for a Pound attack. However, the main force of the blow ricocheted easily off of the dummy and instead struck Meowth soundly in the gut. While not a serious blow, the attack was unexpected and forceful enough to send the scratch cat stumbling as it landed. As both feline pokemon landed, the glowing blue Wish ball reappeared through the ceiling and descended toward the battlefield. While Princess had barely disturbed the fur on her body, her partner was struggling to regain breath, the air knocked out of its lungs by the indirect Pound. "Grab it, Princess!" shouted Courtney, as the pink-and-cream kitten leapt into the air and snagged the sphere, a mystical veil enveloping her and restoring her to her original, pristine state, not a hair out of place.

"Good work, baby, you looked great," Courtney cood as she patted Princess' ear, and the bruised Meowth staggered back to the sideline, near where Coach stood, aghast. Courtney recalled the smiling kitten Pokemon back into its ball, then walked proudly back toward Coach and the rest of the Class. "We didn't get the target down, but whatever," she commented as she passed the stunned bald man, and sat down. The instructor closed his mouth, his eyes focused in thought at what he had just witnessed.

"Miss Courtney," he said aloud as he turned to face the class.

"Hm?" said the young woman, as she looked up from her phone, which she had already produced from her pocket. She clicked it shut and turned her attention to the massive man.

"There's just no way," he began, "that that could have been considered anything close to a decent effort. Not only did you fail to knock over the target, you inflicted more damage on your partner than on your directive. Misuse of techniques, a lack of trust and communication between you and your Skitty, and an overall bad attitude are guaranteeing your failure at this point." Courtney showed a mild sense of concern with the mention of "guaranteed failure". "You must learn how to best use the strengths and abilities of your partner, how to apply them in combat, and most importantly how to work as a team, both between the two of you and with the rest of the Class. You might have a legacy, Miss Courtney, but here you're no better than any of us." He held her attention for a few moments more, locking her gaze with his, before lowering his eyes to his clipboard. At this, a flicker crossed her face, though it was difficult to tell if it was trepidation or annoyance of being chided in front of the class. "Vince, you're up next," said Coach, returning to his routine.

Alex and Trevor, who sat on either side of the young woman, watched her intently, but could sense no further expression from her. If she was indeed seething with some emotion, she hid it extremely well.

At the end of class, Courtney stood, not having spoken a word to anyone since returning to her seat after her demonstration before the Class. As she walked to the floor, flanked as usual by the two boys, Coach approached her. "Courtney, may I have a word with you? I think I may have a way…guys, do you mind?" Trevor and Alex, who had been leaning inward to catch the conversation themselves, looked up, then sheepishly turned and walked, separated from each other, towards the exit. Even as they passed through the doors into the hall, the two took up positions outside the windows in the partition, peering inward. After her two companions left her side, Courtney looked back at the stout man standing before her.

"As I was saying, I may have found a way to help you. I know what I said today was a bit harsh, but it's true. You and your Skitty must learn to work as a unit, and to serve the team in as prominently a way as possible. Though her power is somewhat lacking, she is certainly fast for her species. When I saw she knew how to use the Wish technique, I was floored; that is a rare gift indeed. With those two things in mind, I'd like to show you this." He reached into the wheeled bookshelf that stood nearby, withdrawing a dated textbook, from the "B" chapter of a Pokemon Technique encyclopedia of some sort. The spine crackled as he parted the covers, leafing through the pages with gusto before stopping and placing his finger under a bold-faced heading. Courtney looked down at the page, her curiosity piqued, if slightly.

Trevor and Alex could not hear the conversation within the room, but could see a book being held open before Courtney, the distance between them obscuring the text from their eyes.

"It's a book," said Trevor, into the glass his face was nearly pressed against.

"Nice deduction," replied Alex, much the same way. "Can't see what it says, though. Must be important, if we weren't allowed to see it."

Trevor turned toward Alex, who still peered through the gridded glass. He was quiet for a moment, as if in thought. "Bet I find out before you."

A moment later, the uproar could be heard down the hall. As the two exchanged shoves, Courtney parted the double doors, the most subtle of smiles on her face. Without a word, she walked between the two young men, her blonde hair shifting against her back. Trevor and Alex took a brief glance at each other, before taking off after her.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Cold Front

Alex wanted to scream. He felt the ire boiling in the pit of his stomach, just being near the cocky kid, this rival that had been forced on him. As they walked down the hallway, their strides matching to keep pace with Courtney, he glanced over at his competition. Trevor walked a half-step behind and to the left of her, flanking her just as he was, pulling her attention away. Alex hated the fact that he had to compete with this kid for Courtney's interest, but always kept trying to draw her himself. Over all else, he must remain cool. Controlled. Keep his head, and she would see his true strength. To him, she was worth it.

The day was over, battle practice the only assignment on the docket. The trio took the stairs back to the rooming quarters on the second floor, Courtney leading the two young men around the long, gently bending hallway. Soon they stood outside her room as she unlocked the door and stepped inside.

"See ya, guys," she said to them, in just the right tone of voice that sent shivers through them both. She closed the door with a click and stepped into the darkened chamber, her back to the closed entryway. Courtney smiled to herself as she started to get undressed. "I have your hearts," she said to herself as she raised her arms and slipped out of her top, "and you have my pity."

As soon as the mutual object of their desire was out of the picture, Trevor and Alex reverted back to their individual selves, both young men repulsed by the presence of the other. With only a superior-sounding exhaling breath, Trevor turned and strode onward down the hallway, never looking back. Alex let his angry gaze follow his rival for a few moments, then turned and exited in the opposite direction.

Alex returned to his room, his eyes slowly adjusting to the windowless space as he lit a single desk lamp. He didn't like turning on the overhead light, it heated his room up in the closed space and he tried to retain the cool that night brought to the desert. For Tusk, who with his shaggy fur and tolerance for cold was already having difficulty handling the sweltering temperatures outside the Academy, and by his own preference, Alex did everything he could to accommodate himself in this place. School was never really his style, but his folks had always gotten him out the door in time for his classes, and he hated to let them down. It was his father's job that had moved his family to Mahogany Town in the first place, and his mom that had sparked his interest in snowboarding. Of course, that was also where he had met Tusk, all those years ago. Because of that, he felt it was his responsibility to try not to screw things up too badly. Of course, there was one thing in his life that, above all else, he didn't want to corrupt.

He laid down on the mattress, his body sinking into the gently-worn foam. "Finally Friday," he thought to himself, "but what is there to do? It's not like this place has a freshly-powdered halfpipe out back." He adjusted the beanie that seemed to perpetually cover his head as he reclined against the pillow, enjoying the refreshing coolness of undisturbed fabric. Alex allowed his mind to wander, his eyes sinking shut, quiet and still in the tepid room.

He was only 10. He wandered around the stark clearing, bored by his father's tinkering with the pile of rocks by the cliff-face, and yet here he was, shin-deep in powdery snow. They stood upon a ledge almost 300 feet up, but Alex could still see his dad's brick-red SUV in the lot far below. It may have been no more than a ladybug at this height.

"Alex, come look at this! This is pretty cool," called his father over the wind, holding a stone in his hand. Rolling his eyes, the boy turned and walked slowly over to the cleft where his father knelt. "Probably another 'super-cool' sediment deposit or something," he thought to himself, the snow crunching under his boots. He wanted to be down the mountain, on the slopes with his mom and his friends. But Dad had _insisted_ that he wanted to bring him up here, to look at rocks. Alex reached his father's side, a disinterested look on his face. His father, a handsome man in his late thirties, raised the rock in his hand for his son to see. Alex was surprised to see the Watmel-sized rock was entirely filled with pointed, rose-colored crystals. The light off the snow all around them glinted off the shiny gemstones, dancing under the bright sunlight.

"This is a geode, Alex. It's named after Geodude, like 's, because it's hard and rocky on the outside, but the inside is hollow. Sometimes, it grows crystals on the inside, like this one. See, water…"

Just as these words were spoken, a roar erupted from above them, bellowing down on them and echoing in the frozen air. Alex's father jumped to his feet, his eyes carefully gazing up the slope, searching desperately for the source of the noise. Finally, Alex pointed toward a figure on the hillside above them, maybe a quarter of a mile away. From this far away, he knew what it was: an Abomasnow. They both knew the danger that these Pokemon could inflict while defending their home ranges. "Alex, son, we have to get down the mountain, now. Don't say a word, and we'll get out of here without getting it mad." He took young Alex's hand, stepping slowly backward and keeping his eyes on the aggressive Ice-type monster. They made about 10 steps before Alex's father stepped on a clump of snow that crunched under his boot. The Abomasnow bellowed and beat its chest, its throaty roar echoing down the mountainside. For a second all was silent in the world, when suddenly an ominous cracking noise reverberated down upon the two humans. Before their horrified eyes, a massive sheet of snow was shifting loose from the area just below the Abomasnow, gaining speed with each passing moment.

"Alex, RUN!" shouted his father, as the two turned downhill and bolted as fast as they could down the frozen mountainside, as the roar of the avalanche behind them grew to thunderous proportions. Alex had to lift his legs high as he ran to make any progress through the knee-deep snow, and was constantly trying to avoid tripping on the steep downhill grade. The wind, which hadn't bothered him a minute ago, now stung in his nostrils as he gulped air, out of breath from the extra effort of fighting through the drifts. He could not shake the thought that he was going to die. He was actually going to die. The colossal plume of pallid death swooped down upon him now, and he was swept up in it, unable to breathe, unable to… All went white, then black.

A warm breath on his face. The first thing Alex was aware of as he emerged from under the veil of mortality was warm breath forcing feeling back into his frozen face. He had dreamt of an angel, pulling him from his icy tomb, putting warmth back into his chilled body. His limbs, his body, lay suspended as if on strings, paused in motion, and everywhere numb. With great effort he forced his eyes open, blurry and welling with tears after being closed so tightly for so long. He could see the bright sky beyond, and a dark, shuffling shape taking up his immediate vision. Alex blinked away his tears, and his rescuer came into focus: a big, round, moist nose, roughly and unabashedly snorting all over his face. He tried to speak, but only a dry gasp escaped his throat. The creature took a step back, startled by the sound, then stepped forward and exhaled a moisture-laden breath, reeking of earth and rotten plants, directly into his immobile face. This action brought a fresh wave of tears to Alex's eyes, who was slowly regaining feeling in his cheeks, chin, and forehead. The nose was mounted on the front of a shaggy, low-slung creature with a humped back, a Swinub, he remembered his dad calling them. Suddenly, as if from a great distance, came a muffled shouting, and the crunching of feet on snow. The porcine pokemon gave a squealing grunt before shuffling away out of sight, allowing Alex to see a group of people running up the hill toward him. It was his father, with a number of rescue workers and Arcanine. He…he would be O.K….Alex sank out of consciousness as the workers gathered around the trapped boy, his father, arm in sling, doing everything he could.

A half-hour later, Alex was wrapped in a space blanket in the lodge at the foot of the mountain, before a roaring fire. It was by luck that he escaped being buried alive in the avalanche with his life, much less with only a broken left wrist. He had escaped hypothermia by his speedy rescue, and despite his young age he showed admirable toughness. On the table before him lay the very geode that his father had collected, it had rolled to a stop at the foot of the mountain, as if bound by destiny. Yet, the young boy remained conflicted. He had walked out of an avalanche practically unhurt…but he knew who his real rescuer had been. As the sun began to set on the mountain, Alex collected his half-dry clothes, redressed, and grabbing his pack, went out up the hill. After a brief while he found a set of small hoof-print tracks leading into a stand of trees, and a shuffling sound that still sounded so familiar. He crouched beneath the snow-laden branches and, to his surprise, sat the Swinub, a collection of roots, mushrooms, and grasses sticking out of its mouth. The pokemon's long fur was clumped with dirt and snow, but Alex knew what he wanted to do. As the snow fell that night, gently dancing down past the streetlights, Alex and the Swinub, whom he had named Tusk, lay curled up together in the backseat of his father's van, fast friends fast asleep.

The next morning, Alex and Trevor arrived almost simultaneously, as usual, outside Courtney's door as they readied to head down to breakfast. They were both quiet, neither willing to start conversation with the other. Today, though, Alex was vaguely curious.  
"Hey Trevor," he said, putting aside his dislike for a second, his voice calm and almost falsely friendly. The trainer turned toward him, half-interest reflected on his face.

"What?" he asked, not really caring what the question to be asked was.

"Where'd you get your Sandshrew from?"

"A breeder outta Pewter City. What's it to you?"

Alex smiled to himself. "Never mind, then."


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22: High Tide

Sun, wind, and sea…the perfect union of the three must have conspired to generate this place, this day. Ideal conditions. The barrels were forming without effort, as if preordained by the sea itself. Around her, she could smell the beach air, pungent salt and sunscreen. Summer shifted her grip on the polished wooden board as she held it by her side. A satisfied, excited grin creased her lips, and, surfboard in hand, she charged to the water's edge, put the board in front of her body, and leapt out into the shallows.

"Summer!" came the shout, as jarring as a wipeout in a heavy curl. The blonde-haired girl suddenly came to, the brilliant blue sky plunging into blackness. She lifted her head upright, eyes blurry from being closed, her face moist and hot where it had lain against the desk. Professor Fisk stood facing her, as was most of the class, turned in their chairs. Most of them were amused by her predicament, though clearly the instructor wasn't pleased. Summer put on her trademark friendly smile, knowing she had been caught cold.

"Sorry Professor, it won't be a problem again," she said in the tone of one who knew how to diffuse the situation, not too sarcastic, not too sweet. The ruse seemed to work, as the bespectacled man cleared his throat and turned back to his board, upon which was a complicated-looking diagram of a Machop's musculature. Summer sighed with relief and leaned back in her chair. She knew there must be a nice red mark from the flat surface on the side of her face, and was glad that only a wall was to her right. Could they really blame her for nodding off in Fisk's class, she wondered to herself, the guy's voice could put her to sleep faster than a Jigglypuff. To her left, Amy's leg was bouncing; the brunette seemed to have energy without limit. Summer wondered how Amy could pay attention to the exceedingly boring lecture…but as if by some miracle, the tone sounded, indicating the end of the period. Summer stuffed her notebook into her bag and slung it over her shoulder, happy to be set free from the pallid sterility of the lab classroom. Together with Amy, Evelyn, and Ashley, the girls turned to leave the room.

"Excuse me, Ms. Summer? Could I speak to you for a moment?"

Summer turned, surprised to hear the Professor's voice behind her. The other three girls watched as she turned and walked back toward the lanky instructor, shuffling quietly to the safety of the hallway and ducking their heads back inside with curiosity. Summer stood before Professor Fisk by the whiteboard, the labeled diagrams still displayed from the projector above.

"Today marks the fifth time this week that you've fallen asleep in my class, is that true?"

Summer swallowed hard, she knew that it was, though she wasn't keeping count. "Yeah, about that…"

"I know that this material isn't the most interesting we offer here," he said, donning his white lab coat over his grey shirt, "trust me when I say that I wasn't always this much of a nerd."

I had expected to be in more trouble than this, Summer thought to herself, and could only manage to nod. Fisk reached into his briefcase and pulled out a single sheet of paper, handing it to her.

"I want you to complete this assignment. I have sent my Pokemon out to conceal three items, listed here, around the facility, and it is your responsibility to recover all three and bring them to me, by class tomorrow. You've got to do it on your own, no having your friends assist you."

Summer looked up at the tall, lean professor, half her mind on the task being assigned to her and the other wondering why she wasn't being reprimanded with more than an extra assignment. She decided it wasn't worth pursuing.

"Alright, you got it, sir," Summer said, internally relieved at the ease of the task. She walked out of the classroom and met up with her friends, each displaying varying levels of curiosity as to what had just occurred. As the four girls walked the halls to the girls' side of the dormitory floor, a trio of swift Crobat flitted noiselessly through empty halls, travelling the well-known paths through the carved rock passages. Each of the four-winged Poison types carried a trinket around its neck, odd shapes of a reddish stone and a woven golden metal. As instructed, they deposited their treasures in the proper locations and took off again, returning to Professor Fisk's room nearly simultaneously, with no eyes noting their presence above the hallways. As they flapped to a silent hover before the bespectacled man, Professor Preston entered, grinning as he saw the three bat Pokemon.

"The assignment?" he asked Fisk as the scientist recalled the three Crobat and walked to turn off the projector.

Fisk grinned slightly. "The Headmaster is clever indeed."

Summer pulled the paper, already creased into disproportionate halves from her pocket, and opened it to its full size. Her sapphire eyes read over the typed lines quickly. Apparently, she had 24 hours to gather three pieces of an amulet called the Amber Stone, all of which had been distributed within the complex of the Academy. She could enlist no help from the other kids, nor any other Pokemon than her partner Flow. "A scavenger hunt?" she wondered to herself, "that's a pretty weird way to punish someone for sleeping in your class…whatever, guess I've gotta do it either way." She bent and tied her sneaker tighter, slung her bag back over her shoulder, and started down the hallway toward the Annex.

Within minutes the huge open space yawned before her, the wrought-iron banister the only separation between the walkway and a forty-foot plummet to the stone tiles below. She paused near the entrance to the spiral staircase built into the wall, and removed the sheet from her pocket.

"You will find the first piece of the artifact in the most distant place from the front portal," read Summer, her mind suddenly going back to the exquisitely-detailed glass doors two levels below her. She raised her eyes from the paper, to the back side of the massive, gleaming stone statue, peering through the gap between its wing and neck of the giant black dragon. The entranceway, which was visible at the far side of the annex directly across from where she now stood, stood undisturbed across the quiet forum's floor. Tracing the doors upwards past the concentric rings of stone, Summer looked upward at the mysterious fourth floor, the highest of the levels accessible by the spiral stairs. "It's gotta mean the top floor, right?" she wondered aloud, looking back at the sheet in her hands. "There's no way further down, I don't think, and going up there will get me as far as I can go from the door." With that reasoning, she slipped into the carved-stone stairwell and ascended two flights, gripping the handrail tightly. After what seemed a far longer time than necessary she emerged at the last opening in the carved column, a wrought-iron gate with a sizeable lock prevented ascension further. She stepped out onto the landing.

The fourth level looked much like the third floor's academic-style layout, with numerous doors lining the sandstone walls. However, it was evident that this floor had not been used for classes for quite some time. The tiles of the walkway were covered with a noticeable layer of dust, and Summer could only spot the isolated tracks of a Pokemon leading from the stairs and around the perimeter of the floor. "Oh right, the Houndoom, the guard dogs. They must do their rounds up here too at night." Summer slowly approached the banister, looking out over the vacuous expanse that spread out before her. She had never truly appreciated the epic scale of the Annex until now, she now stood even higher than the venerated dragon sculpture , the highest point of which reached to the middle of the level below her. The ceiling above, domed, was much closer than she ever thought possible here. She looked around her, nothing but closed doors on all sides. Suddenly, however, she spotted something amiss…the last door in the line was ajar. Pulling Flow's pokeball from her bag just in case, Summer made her way over to the room, kicking up dusty bursts with each footfall.

Peeking into the partly-open doorway, Summer could see only deep shadows in beyond the flickering glow of the hall. Nervously, she reached her hand through the door and felt around on the wall for a switch. With a sigh of relief she found it , flicking on the suddenly glaring light. Even in the sharp brightness, Summer felt like she was in the right place...ah! The low ceiling was adorned along its edge by a wooden molding, and dangling from a nail in the far corner was a reddish jewel on a gold chain. Standing on a desk, the amulet was an easy reach for the young woman. As she clambered back to the floor, she examined the sparkling reddish-brown gem, which was set in a wiry golden housing on a fine chain. "Why would they put something this valuable out here in the open, just as an assignment for me to do?" Summer wondered, it didn't seem to make sense. "Whatever, I've got the first one, two more to go." Producing the map from her pocket once more, she read the next set of instructions.

"You will find the second piece beneath the surface, in the Sea Caverns."

"The…the Sea Caverns? We're in the middle of the desert, it's not…" Suddenly it hit her; Summer knew where she had to look. She strode out of the dusty classroom and made her way back to the staircase. As she flipped the lights back off, a pair of red eyes and a wide, gleaming grin appeared in the dark, fading back into the wall as she shut the door behind her.

Summer walked as fast as she could back down the winding staircase, her hand gripping the rail on the right side as she descended. More than once she nearly lost her footing on the worn stone steps, but her honed sense of balance enabled her to stay on her feet. "Thank you, surfing," she thought to herself with a smile. Dozens of steps and three tiers later, she arrived at the level of the Annex floor, the huge room's checkered floor seemed to stretch for miles. She stepped out into the archway and caught her breath, the effort of clambering up and then down all those steps taking a toll on her legs. An unexpected shuffling noise echoed across the vacuous space, snapping Summer from her reverie against the cool stone wall. She peered to her left, towards the feet of the giant statue, and noticed Maya, the secretary, looking over at her from her desk. The young woman, in her emerald-green dress, waved in greeting, her expression bright. Summer grinned and returned the casual wave before lifting her bag back onto her shoulder and entering back into the staircase. Further and further down into the cool stone shaft she descended, the light from the opening above vanishing and giving way to wrought-iron torchlight. Humidity began to gather around her, beading on the walls and giving everything a warm, sticky feeling. Summer smiled, knowing that she was getting close to her next destination. A last turn opened onto a landing, and Summer was awestruck by what she saw.

In the dim light, a massive room opened before her. Bathed in gentle blue light, the space seemed to be built in a large cavern, rough stone walls and stalactites hanging from the ceiling above. Nearly the entire floor of the chamber was covered in pools of all sizes and descriptions, both naturally-formed and manmade. In the center lay one larger than any Summer had ever seen before. Sapphire-colored lights illuminated the water from below and spotlights that shone from above sent beams of color through the thickly humid air, visible through the drifting mist. There was a comfortable warmth afforded by the humid air and glimmering water, reflections of light dancing on the ceiling high above. I could live here forever, Summer thought to herself. She reached into her shoulder-slung pack and withdrew Flow's pokeball. She pressed the button on the center of the sphere and it opened, pouring out its contents in the form of red energy. Moments later the orange river crab took shape, raising its claws above its head and looking curiously at its unfamiliar surroundings. The blonde-haired girl smiled at the Krabby, when suddenly her attention was drawn to the far side of the room. Through the shifting mists, something big was moving. A haunting, yet musical, tone began drifting across the chamber, echoing off the slick stone floors and high ceilings. Summer squinted into the cloudy haze, trying to make out the creature's identity. A Lapras? she thought to herself. It sounds like one, like the ones off Valencia Island at last year's Orange Big Wave Finals. This one, though, sounded deeper, as if coming from something larger… Flow, suddenly, took off in his sideways gait, a froth of foam gathering around his mouth. "Flow, come back!" shouted Summer, trying to keep her voice low enough that she wouldn't be heard by the mysterious shape in the fog. The Krabby, ordinarily very mellow-natured, seemed defensive toward the figure, and kept clambering over the puddle-laden stone towards the far end of the chamber. Summer followed the water-type, carefully watching her footing on the slick surface. Abruptly, the Krabby stopped its charge, then slowly began backing away to Summer's side. Pokemon and trainer stood at the edge of a huge naturally-formed lagoon, the billowing mist hanging substantially over the water's surface. As if in response to their presence, a slender shape began rising near-silently from the cloudy center of the pool, an aquamarine light shining brightly as it was held aloft. A mournful wail, resonating through the cave and rippling the water's surface before it, issued forth from the creature in the mist, which now towered ten feet out of the water, taller than any Lapras Summer had ever encountered. This was nothing she was familiar with.

The young woman stood unmoved from where she stood, transfixed by the creature before her, her trademark relaxed nature replaced by wonder. Through the thick miasma, she could make out a reptilian head on an extremely long, slender neck, the smooth skin wetly reflective under the lights. The eye of the creature retained its unusual light-blue glow, brightly luminous of its own accord. For a moment it turned, facing directly toward Summer where she stood, before turning away and sinking back into the water without a sound, much less a splash. Just as quickly as it had appeared before her, the creature had vanished beneath the still water, and was gone from sight before Summer could approach.

As she searched the clear depths from the surface, her eye caught a glimpse of a shiny glimmer near the rocky bottom of the lagoon. Several dozen feet underwater, she could make out the golden chain and reddish gem of the second piece. "Easy enough," she said quietly to Flow, who stood nearby, more relaxed now that the mysterious creature had vanished. The Krabby knew exactly what she meant, smiling as well as its exoskeletal face would allow. Good thing I came prepared, Summer mused, as she unzipped her thin sweatshirt and threw it next to her bag, which on a stone elevated above the damp floor. She pulled off the white teeshirt underneath and adjusted the azure-blue bikini top she wore beneath it. She freed her legs from the black bicycle shorts, revealing matching bikini bottoms. Stripping off her shoes and socks, she tested the water with her toes, and finding it perfectly warm, dove right in. Even beneath the surface, it was thoroughly clear, wonderfully balmy, and silent but for her own movement. Thanks to her thousands of hours spent in the surf, Summer's athletic body propelled herself quickly through the water with effortless strokes. She reached the amulet as it lay upon the uneven floor, grabbed it, and kicking off the bottom, rocketed back up to the surface.

Her crustaceous partner, who was already sleeping on the warm stones by the water's edge, reached into her bag and extracted a folded-up towel, holding it up for his master in his claw. Summer wished she could swim for longer; it had been weeks since she had last been in the water. Unfortunately, she and the Krabby were on a time limit. Reluctantly, she climbed from the refreshing pool and dried herself off. As she replaced her blue barrettes in her hair, she read the list for the third, and final, location clue.

"You will find the third piece near the deepest portal."

With nothing else to go on, Summer tried to make sense of the clue as she redressed, hurriedly drying herself with her towel. Still in her mind, though, was that creature that had risen from the water before her just minutes before, then vanished without a trace. She didn't get a really good view of it, but she wondered if the teachers knew that something like that was living down here. As she made her way back to the stairwell, she noticed the bronze plaque on the wall beside the archway, reading "Sea Caverns" in hammered copper. "See?" she said to Flow as she pointed to the sign. "I was right!"

Summer and Flow reentered the winding stairway column and prepared the long climb back to the ground floor. The Krabby, however, did not follow her up the first few stairs, and instead drew his trainer's attention with its raspy voice. Summer turned back at the river crab, who extended his claw to the darkness to the right of the ascending staircase. Yet more stairs wound downward into the darkness beyond, covered in dust damp with humidity from the water-filled cavern nearby. The Krabby, despite possessing limited eyesight in the deep darkness, lead the way down the murky passage for several dozen feet before arriving at a level landing, the very base of the stairway column. At the end of the path stood a wooden door braced with an imposing wrought-iron gate, lit by a single dim lamp from above. Not a sound could be heard but for their footfalls and Summer's slightly-nervous breathing. Straining to see, Summer flipped open her cell phone, using its brightly-glowing screen to help guide her progress. The digital numbers on the device read 8:54 PM. In the bleak light, however, a faint glimmer issued forth from the dark-metal grate, yellowish against the blackened iron. It was not without concern that Summer plucked the third piece of the amulet from where it hung, when a sudden rustling made both partner and master jump slightly. A piece of paper fluttered to Summer's feet.

"If you've found this third piece, you should now have all three pieces of the amulet. I will now reveal to you the secret of these treasures. These gems are known as the Breloom Spheres, a trio of gems assembled thousands of years ago from some rare precious stone. They are so named because when they are assembled together, the three gems give off a powerful energy that, in humans and Pokemon, causes a hypnotic effect. Though short-lived, it is potent. You will likely be sent to sleep before fini.."

With the three red-brown gemstone pendants in her hand, Summer swooned against the wall, unable to hold herself up against the combined influence of the spheres. The paper fell from her grasp and, landing on the floor, began soaking up water from the damp floor. With her last bit of strength she reached into her backpack and withdrew a single item, fighting the darkness that clouded her senses. Fifteen seconds later, she slumped to the floor, Flow collapsed by her side.

Hours passed as Summer and Flow lay unconscious before the heavily-barred door, the lonely gloom at the very base of the Academy surrounding them both beyond the feeble glow of the lantern. Though rendered asleep by the power of the gems, they slept no deeper than if they had fallen asleep of their own accord. Through the night and the following morning they dozed, undisturbed in the humid, noiseless passage. Suddenly, piercingly loud in the stone hall, the rhythmic strumming of a guitar echoed. The din rang out from Summer's mobile, the programmed response for its alarm-clock function. Even as she shook off the thick blanket of sleep, a sly grin spread across the blonde girl's face. Through blurred eyes she flipped the phone open and turned off the blaring interlude, and checked the time. 11:45 AM. The numbers glowed back blue in her face. Though she was just awakening from sleep, she felt far more drowsy than usual. With a start she realized the three amulets lay in a cluster by her side. Summer slapped one of the spheres away from the others, breaking the influence they held when assembled together. Instantly feeling energy return to her as the veil of lethargy lifted, she fought her way to her feet, realizing that she had only 15 minutes to bring the three gems to Professor Fisk, four stories and two hundred steps above her current position. Without thinking she gathered the three amulets and made for the stairs, before feeling the now-familiar lightheadedness of the gems' power begin sapping her strength. She realized that she couldn't carry all three without putting herself to sleep, even placing them in her bag would activate their power. Searching desperately for an answer, her attention jumped to her partner, who himself was recovering from the sudden slumber they had been subjected to. Summer grinned.

In Professor Fisk's laboratory classroom, the bespectacled instructor stood before the Class as his students made their way to their seats. The clock above, precisely accurate, read 11:57. He looked out at the arranged tables, and was not surprised to find Summer absent from her chair. With less than a minute remaining, Amy and Ashley glanced nervously at each other; Summer had not answered her door this morning as they made their way to class, which was unusual for the relaxed, but responsible, young woman. With less than a minute remaining before the strike of noon, the professor picked up his record book for notation of the experiment's result. From the hallway, however, came the sudden, rhythmic slapping of sneakers on stone. As the second hand passed the 9, Summer, breathing hard, stepped into the room. The Class as a whole turned to face her, most thoroughly confused by her somewhat disheveled and winded appearance. The blonde girl swallowed hard, quickly catching her breath, and strode to the podium before the lanky instructor. She reached into her pack and withdrew a pair of the glimmering gold-and-amber amulets, holding them by their chains, and held them toward him. "And the third?" asked Fisk with a curious tone, inwardly surprised and impressed. With a slight grin Summer snapped a single Pokeball from her belt and sent out her Krabby. Flow gurgled as it regained its physical form, looking up at the tall teacher. Clenched tightly in its claw was the third amulet.

"Well done, Summer and Flow. You managed to accomplish your assigned task in the pre-arranged time period, and somehow found a way through the associated risks." From behind the podium he produced three silvery velvet bags, and one by one placed a gem in each before stowing them beneath the desk surface. "Curious as I am about how you managed to complete this task, I have a class to teach. If you'd please take your seat, I'd like to begin."

Summer recalled the Krabby, its crustaceous grin wide on its face. She made her way to her desk in the corner, the eyes of her Classmates following her, as Professor Fisk began his lecture. Once seated she allowed herself a small smile, and leaned back against the molded plastic seat.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23: Against the Grain

With a sigh the glass doors of the cool, shady corridor slid shut. Walking alone down the paved-stone hall, Vince's eyes reflected the flickering light of the sconces that lined the walls. Slung over his shoulder was his tattered pack, crudely patched with fraying lengths of duct tape. In short time he reached the dense stone doors that sealed the external end of the passage, splitting them to either side with the press of a green-lit button on the wall. Immediately the space began to flood with the piercing sunlight of late morning in the Otaru Desert. The sun was very high in the cloudless sky already, and the simmering heat made the sloping dunes beyond shimmer with haze. Vince took a last glance back over his shoulder into the dark hall as the great stone blocks slid back into place, grateful that he hadn't been followed.

Before he had crested the first dune to escape sight of the Academy, he could feel his back and shoulders building to uncomfortable levels of heat. "Had to wear this shirt, didn't I?", regretting donning the black garment. For a moment he considered turning around and going back; after all, he was breaking curfew and leaving the grounds without any clearance, in addition to the ever-climbing heat. "Screw that," he said to himself as he marched onward. "Never stopped me before."

A flock of wild Doduo and Dodrio ran past in the distance , their progress marked by a rising trail of dust. Vince could only hope to match their pace, burdened under his dark shirt and long pants he struggled in the midday heat and oppressive sun. A short distance away, though, he could see relief, an enclave of boulders at the foot of a rocky dune. Fighting the fatigue that spread from his legs he forced himself forward, lurching ungracefully into the semicircle of unshaped stones. As he leaned in the narrow strip of shade along a wall, Vince noticed that within the half-ring of stones was a small, dried lakebed, cracking under the sun. He had sought this place as a shelter from the heat of the noontime desert, but had found the training ground he had been hoping for. Vince stripped off his shirt and reached into his pack, withdrawing a single, chipped pokeball. Hurling the ball skyward, the capsule split and emptied its contents to the ground. The creature within was squat, reptilian, and covered in an impressive layer of thick, organic-metal armor, an Aron. In the bright sunlight the pokemon winced, its heterochromatic eyes narrowing as it looked up at its serious-looking master. "Chrome," said the dark-haired young man as he loomed against the sun, "we have work to do."

From the balcony high above the white-gold sands surrounding the Academy, Del gazed out into the wilderness beyond the intermittent stone barrier that ringed the facility. Far into the distance through the rippling haze, he could see the reddish profile of hills and rocky outcrops that jutted up abruptly from the rounded dunes. By his side, Slate peered with interest between the wrought-iron bars of the balustrade, enjoying the warmth of the sun on his mineral-hardened shell. Suddenly, the Geodude spotted something on the ground below. "Geo," the rock pokemon said simply, extending one of its dexterous hands towards the dark shape moving through the dune field away from the building where they stood. Del turned his attention to where his partner was pointing, spotting the figure in question with ease. As he watched, the person paused momentarily and turned back around, looking about as if fearing detection. Even at this distance Del could tell that it was Vince, that Aron trainer who got roughed up by James in battle practice a few days ago. But where could he be going at this time of day, out into the desert alone? Slate the Geodude turned and looked up at his master, who was visibly concerned with the situation. "Vince is just as important as any of us, Slate. I can't let anything happen to him out there, if he gets into trouble." He snapped the Rock type's pokeball from his belt and withdrew the Geodude, stooped to grab his bag from the ground, and headed for the stairs inside the corridor.

Sparks flew, visible even against the dazzling light of the sun. The clash of metal on stone rang off the wall-like boulders surrounding the dry oasis. Chrome leapt back, gritting its teeth beneath its steel mask. Before it, chips of rock slid from the savage divot the Iron Armor pokemon had just left in its surface. To the side, Vince watched his partner carefully, a hard look on his face. _We have to get stronger_, he thought as the Aron lowered its head and charged again into the cracking stone. _It still takes him five or six hits to break these things._ "Keep it up!" he shouted to the Steel-type. Chrome lunged forward into the boulder, throwing its surprising bulk and leading with its well-armored shoulder. The tan-speckled stone gave way under the impact, shattering into several large chunks that lay strewn amid the airborne sand. The Aron growled with satisfaction , the brilliance of its light-blue left eye and blood-red right eye visible even through the swirling dirt. "Good, you got through it," Vince said shortly, jumping down from his post atop a stand of rock nearby. He scanned the nearby area for more boulders to use as targets. "Ah, here we go," he said, spotting a good-sized stone lying in the center of a wide-open, dried pan. The ground on all sides was split and broken from the intense heat of the daytime sun, laying like a random tiled pattern upon the ground. The pillar of stone, a substantial vertical chunk of sandstone standing alone, would serve as a prime target. The pair strode out before the boulder, which towered high above them like a column. The dry, dusty surface beneath their feet crunched and echoed through the cliffs, sounding like the march of thousands. Vince looked down at Chrome and offered the simple, hard-edged command: "Do it." With that he stepped back to the edge of the flat pan, as the Aron took its stance.

Vince crossed his arms and waited for his partner to make its move. The rock/steel-type hybrid stepped backwards several feet, the dry pan crunching into dust beneath its feet. For the heavily-armored pokemon, walking backwards was a difficult task, but the technique it intended to use required momentum that could only be gained through a running start. Chrome closed his eyes and diverted all his energy to the steel mask that shrouded his face. The metal plating, already shiny in the sun, began to glow with a silvery white light, more intensely with each passing second. Growling with the effort of maintaining the energy focus, the Aron forced its stubby legs into movement, slowly at first but building itself into a shuffling charge, making a beeline towards the towering monolith at the center of the cracked pan. A roaring growl of "Rrrron!" echoed from the surrounding rocks, immediately stifled by a sound not unlike a truck being driven through the side of a house. A cloud of dust enveloped the area, but Vince was barely phased by the swirling debris. Even through the thick cloak of airborne sand, he could see the stone standing tall, backlit against the sun. _Chrome had failed_.

Vince approached the billowing dust cloud and squinted to find Chrome. As he came near the center of the scorched, cracked pan, the airborne debris began to settle and his vision cleared. The Iron Armor pokemon stood beside the foot of the pillar, dozens of miscellaneous rock fragments all around it, panting heavily from the effort. Though the column remained standing, a gigantic chunk had been blown away from its base, like a bite into a cookie. It seemed impossible that the stone remained standing given the hideous damage its base had sustained, yet still it towered high overhead on a narrow neck of sandstone, a precarious weight upon a willowy stem. "Not bad," Vince said at length, looking up at the massive boulder like a fruit on a vine. "You missed though. We're doing more Iron Head practice next time." Just as he spoke these words, however, a minute _click_ sounded from above. A tiny chip of stone, the size of Vince's thumbnail, tumbled down the stack and landed at his feet. Vince had time to look up to see a Spearow perched upon the lip of the boulder. The stone groaned as if alive, shifting under the sudden addition of weight to one side, and tipped from its resting place. The tiny bird pokemon flapped to safety as the massive rock crashed down from its height, directly toward Vince and Chrome. Vince leapt to the side, escaping the boulder by several yards as it thundered to a stop on the ground behind him. He suddenly remembered Chrome, who he noticed was not by his side. Panic flooded his body as he squinted, searching the billowing debris cloud for a sign of his metallic partner. His last glimpse of the Aron had been just before looking up at the boulder as it teetered upon the thin neck of stone. Then he had turned and fled…just like he always did. Vince swore aloud. _What if he's hurt? What if he got crushed under that rock?_ Vince didn't want to consider the answers to those questions. "Chrome! Where are you?"

Slowly, the dust settled around the spot where the giant sandstone boulder had plummeted to earth from its improbable perch. Even the wind that had been gusting intermittently through the gaps in the rocks around them seemed to have faded, and all around was deathly silence, save for the crackling of stone chips under Vince's feet. Dirt had begun to cling to the dark-haired young man's sweat-soaked face. Suddenly, a small plate of stone clattered over a few yards away, and a dull metallic gleam shone through the gloom. "Arrr.." said a gritty voice. Vince strode over and was relieved with what he saw. Chrome struggled to his feet, and despite his scuffed and dirty appearance, seemed to have avoided any major wounds in the impact. Vince grinned, a rare sight coming from the stern and serious young man. "I guess all that armor is there for a reason, eh? Good thing I got you all that metal stuff to eat." He looked down at the Aron, who seemed equally relieved to see his trainer in good shape. "You freaked me out a little bit there, dude." For a few moments, the Rock/Steel reptile and the black-haired trainer stood at peace, catching their breath as best they could. Without warning, a sound like the cracking of an eggshell echoed across the chipped, flat pan. Unlike the previous one, however, this one came from a far more serious place: directly below them. Vince and Chrome, as one, snapped their attention to the dehydrated earth beneath their feet as an ominous creaking issued forth. At the base of the fallen boulder was a tiny crack, barely noticeable against the dried pan, which began to split and spread like the branching of a lightning bolt.

"Dammit."

As if in response to his muttered oath the ground began to violently crack, shattering like a mirror from the point the massive stone had crashed down. "Run, Chrome, run!" Vince shouted over the rending earth, this time making sure the reptilian Steel type was following him. The Aron growled and charged as fast as his stout legs could carry him. Pokemon and trainer bolted for the rocky border that ringed the flat, sun-baked pan. Lunging forward Vince clambered off of the crumbling surface, outpacing the spider-web pattern of fracturing earth. He whirled around, glad to see the Aron lumbering toward him. Suddenly, though, the ground gave way beneath his weight, and the pokemon dropped through into the murky abyss below. It was at this point that Vince noticed what had lain beneath the supposedly solid layer on which they had been standing: a viscious layer of quicksand. _We were just standing on the hard skin on top of quicksand?_ He could barely believe what he was seeing. Chrome was clawing desperately around, doing everything it could to keep its bulky armor-clad body above the surface. "Chrome, hang on! I'll get you out!" shouted Vince, hastily looking for anything to use to aid his rescue attempt. With no luck, the young man stepped gingerly onto the remaining hard layer between him and his partner, simultaneously frantic to save his only friend and cautious of becoming trapped himself. Even as he eased his weight onto the unstable slab, it cracked and broke apart, the collective strength lost. The Aron thrashed in distress, growling and squealing in a universal display of mortal fear. Vince was out of options, but refused to give in. "Keep fighting! I didn't raise you to quit on me! Fight!" he cried, his eyes beginning to brim with tears. _This can't be happening_. As he watched, though, the thick, gooey quicksand was clinging to the already-burdened Aron, forcing it ever further down. The Pokemon's bright blue left eye and stark-crimson right eye began to dull as he tired, his movements growing slower with each desperate swipe for support. "NO! Don't give up!" cried Vince, still searching for something, anything, to allow him to reach his partner, but nothing could be found. His shirt, removed when they had arrived, lay on the far side of the lakeside. Vince knew he would never reach it in time. The struggling flailing of his paws only sped the rate at which his own weight pulled the Aron under. Vince was distraught; his knees felt weak and his heart dropped as he watched his partner, his best friend, sink out of sight beneath the surface with a plaintive whine. And in that moment, he was all alone.

The very breeze was hushed as Vince felt the air suck free from his lungs, as if by force. His legs gave out and he slumped to his knees, eyes locked on the faint ripple where his partner, his one true friend, had vanished under the glistening layer of quicksand. Too far out to reach without some sort of rope or line, Vince was helpless to aid his partner. The sun above glared down without mercy upon his shoulders and head, but the dark-haired young man couldn't feel it. _There was nothing he could have done._ The surface of the viscous pit, which now consumed the vast majority of the hardened layer, was undisturbed and gave off a wet sheen like freshly-poured batter in a pan. Vince felt the burning heat of the midday sun glaring down on his bare shoulders as he kneeled by the fluid surface, brimming tears streaking his dust-covered face. He refused to believe that Chrome was gone, that he had just, in a matter of seconds, watched his partner sink out of his life, forever. "CHROME!" he screamed to the heavens, his head thrown back, the cry ricocheting from the stone walls that surrounded him. A single bubble rose to the semisolid surface of the quicksand in front of him, sitting atop the surface before bursting. _Air from his lungs_, Vince thought, imagining the Aron's body being crushed under the weight of the suspended sand. To his surprise, a second bubble, then a third, rose to the top and popped as the broke the surface. Something was moving beneath the surface.

"No way. Chrome?" Vince forgot, almost instantly, that there was nearly no chance of ever seeing his partner again. He had witnessed the Aron succumb to exhaustion and sink beneath the muck before his very eyes. _There was nothing I could do_, he said again, _but that won't stop us!_ "Chrome! Fight! Fight!" He had no idea if the shape he saw was his Aron, or if it was alive it all. Suddenly, though, a swiping shape, clawed paw caked in sand, split the viscous surface before sinking back under. The gooey sand was beginning to bubble, around the spot where the claw had briefly emerged. Vince was dumbstruck, unable to move.

"No way."

A familiar face, plated with resilient armor that was caked in gritty quicksand, burst from the abyss, eyes clenched shut, and drew in a growling breath before the weight of the sand pulled it under again. There was no longer any doubt. Vince jumped to his feet and stared down at the figure struggling to emerge from the muck, words escaping his throat. "Do it, Chrome! Fight! Keep fighting!" Again and again the Aron broke the surface, its short legs and heavy armor preventing it from making much headway. With one last effort, the Steel-type forced itself to the surface, growling deep from the core of its being, and treaded sand to free its shoulders. Vince found his voice, at last.

"CHROME!"

"RRROOOONNN!"

The Aron's unmatched eyes snapped open, glowing like jewels against the all-covering tan-brown speckling of the sand in which it was entombed, and with that last push for freedom, the Pokemon began to give off a brilliant white light. Weak and barely visible beneath the clinging sand, it slowly and gradually spread to cover Chrome's entire body. Vince was awestruck; he had seen this phenomenon once before, when the boss' Nidorino was given a Moon Stone to force it to evolve, to change form become stronger. _Is this…evolution_? As the Steel-type began to transform before Vince, it sank back under the surface, out of view. A few moments later, though, a new form began to emerge: a triangular head, broader and covered by a shielding layer of metal plating, Chrome's trademark bichromatic eyes narrowed with determination. The clinging sand could no longer hold the Pokemon down, as it moved its broad, clawed feet with powerful strides of its shoulders. Within a minute, the entire Pokemon had torn itself free, marched up the side of the pit, and now stood before its trainer, as the muck dripped from its steel armor.

"No way…this is insane. CHROME! You evolved! How is this…" Vince couldn't find the words fast enough, so he dropped to his knees and embraced the pokemon around its thick neck. "Lairr," grumbled the Steel-type, closing its eyes and tilting its head towards its trainer in its own version of a hug. Still stunned by the events that had just unfolded, Vince took his first chance to inspect his partner's new form. With a bulky, powerful body resting on four pillarlike legs, much of the creature was clad in protective organic metal, much like its previous form. Chrome turned its armored head and leered at his Vince with his cherry-red right eye. "Lai-ron," it said simply, never one to mince words, as always.

Vince, for once, smiled and said, "That was some fight, dude, I knew you'd never give up that easily. We gotta get some of this sand off of you though, it's gonna harden and get heavy. Lets…"

"Geo-duude!" came the call from over Vince's shoulder. Sitting atop the ring of rocks surrounding the quicksand oasis was a rounded, grayish Geodude, one finger extended and pointing at Vince and Chrome. The Lairon snorted audibly. His trainer knew exactly where this Rock-type had come from. In fact, they both did. Quickly, Vince wiped the tear streaks from his eyes and face, and reset his typical hard expression.

"Vince, are you…Is that your Aron? How'd you get it to evolve?" Del crested the rise and, with his Geodude at his heels, strode down the steep slope with more agility that it would appear the big man possessed. "Mind if I take a look?" Del was inspecting the Lairon as a driver would a pre-owned car, muttering to himself as he admired the sand-coated armor. Vince couldn't take it.

"How the hell did you find us out here, Del? You better not have followed me."

"I saw you from the balcony, walking out here. We came to see if you needed help, or at least a sparring partner, if training's what you came here for. We…"

"I don't need your sympathy. Chrome and I wanted to do our own training, and it's paid off. We're fine on our own. Our business is our business, go worry about your own." Vince was short and sharp with his words, defiant to the concept of assistance and hardened against the easily-revoked offering of trust. The black-haired trainer walked around the shoreline of the quicksand oasis to retrieve his shirt, pushing past Del. Del was taken aback by the brisling response, but allowed Vince to pass, his Lairon striding at his heels. "Geo, geo," said Slate, scratching its head with one hand as if trying to question his actions. "It's alright, Slate," Del said with a sigh. "He's got to find his own path. Whether it will link up with ours, or any of ours, I can't say for sure…we've just got to try to help where we can." Vince and Chrome clambered through the gap in the rocks from which they had entered, leaving Del and Slate behind without another word. Del gave his colleague a few minutes to walk ahead, to give Vince the space he demanded, before departing himself. When he and his Geodude emerged from the cleft in the rock, however, he was surprised to notice Vince and Lairon mere feet ahead of them, walking at a regular pace. _At that pace, they should have been a half a mile ahead of us_, Del thought to himself, _and yet, here they are._ He smiled and, with Slate at his side, followed the Steel trainer to their mutual destination.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24: Whisper

A lone figure, drifting as if borne in water, floated slowly across the hallway, heedless of the bunched clusters of students that strode toward it. More than a century's worth of scholars have walked these halls, under the unseen gaze weaving lazily through their midst. One pair of deep violet eyes, however, rose from the floor to meet the spirit. Hovering in place by one of the walls, it appeared like a smudge of black smoke, clustered like a vertical cloud at the corner of her vision. As the foot traffic ignored the spirit, invisible to their eyes, so did they look past the one capable of seeing it. I paused, arms crossed and pressing my books to my chest, expression remarkably composed for someone observing a human spirit. I did not speak a word, standing alone as the rest of the crowd turned the corner and proceeded to class. Slowly I bowed her head, a gentle nod in the direction of the wispy, dark smudge. As I raised my gaze again, the spirit faded from view before my eyes. They seek only acknowledgement, as I turned and continued toward the classroom. They're just as much a part of the world as any of us.

Professor Fisk was on another one of his complicated-theory tirades again. The bespectacled man dramatically strode across his lecture platform before the board with his pointer in hand, lab coat swaying from the sudden movement. His glasses gleamed in the light as he leaned on his lectern, looking out over us. "And that, my students, is why you must be conscious of the effects of weather in battle. Those who fail to take accurate meteorological observations are doomed to failure at their hands." I wonder if he talked like that on purpose. The 17 teenagers assembled before him looked back with states of attention ranging from "rapt" to "lethargic Slowpoke", in James' case. I shifted slightly in my chair, stopped my pencil from rolling off my notebook, and looked toward the board. "Which of course brings me to my next point. I will be assigning you students a group project, to be completed and returned to me by next class period." At the mentioning of the phrase "group project", I saw most of the wandering eyes in the room lock onto the scientist at the lectern. This really doesn't bode well for me. "I thought so. You must work together, sharing the workload effectively, drawing upon your individual skills and knowledge to complete the assignment. I will be choosing the pairings through random selection, through the archaic means of drawing names from this hat." He reached beneath the speaking platform and produced a dusty baseball cap, filled with small slips of paper. "Now then," he said, a slight grin creasing his face, "shall we begin?"

Whispers and nervous shifting rippled through the seated students as the professor reached in for the first pair of names. One by one, the duos were selected, one partner moving to the seat beside the other, some adjusting to the newly-social assignment with more ease than others, and received their project assignment. With five students remaining unpaired, Fisk produced two names from the cap. "The two in my hand will be paired as normal. The remaining three, you will have the good fortune of working as a triad, though your responsibility for this assignment remains unchanged. Understood? Good." His hand deposited the slips with the other chosen names. "Vanessa and Nathan," he read. Nathan? The tall kid? I haven't seen him say much to anybody since he got here…not that I've got room to talk. "And here is your assignment," he said cooly, handing the bespectacled student a sheet. As the three remaining students partnered up, Fisk returned to his podium before the Class. "You all have until the end of the period to, using only your collective knowledge and information-gathering ability, fulfill the assignment given to you as completely as you can. I will judge, at that time, your accuracy and percentage of completion. And with that…"

With a dramatic backward step that flared his long, cape-like lab coat behind him, the professor's left hand snapped a pokeball from the holster on his belt. I was surprised with the practiced ease he showed as he tossed the sphere forward. The energy within materialized into a Crobat, which spread its four wings and hovered calmly in the air before its master. The action had been done with such practiced grace that some of the others seemed stunned. Fisk looked up at the violet chiropteran Pokemon, then out at the students.

"Desmodus will lead you to the library, where you shall spend the remainder of the period. Use your time wisely, you will need it to complete your assignments. Off you go, then."

Well, here we go again. Just like back in North Ecruteak High, and the middle school before that. I find myself wishing I had never been brought here at all. I can't be the only one who feels that way.

I rose and, grabbing my bag after the unexpected early dismissal from the classroom, filed out of the room, following the noiseless Crobat as it led the way at the head of the column. We moved along the open-air corridor that ringed the Annex below, until we arrived at a set of massive doors, standing directly at the back of that massive black dragon sculpture. From this angle I was closer to it than I had ever been, and I could almost see myself in its polished surface, beyond the railing. Even from where I stood at the back of the gathered crowd, I was surprised by the beauty of the doors before us. Exquisitely wrought into ornate patterns of black metal interlaid with glass, the portals parted inward before the us, though I didn't see any sensor that could have opened them. Through the sizeable entrance the Class filtered, onto a sizeable semicircular balcony. The room I stepped into was vast, far more expansive than I had anticipated, and emanated a near-tangible aura of history. The balcony upon which we stood looked out over the huge complex of shelves and tables, at the foot of a large stone staircase lined by iron guardrails. Row upon row of shelves of every description, crafted of stone and wood, stood lined with books and manuscripts of equal variety, as shafts of sunlight slanted in through beautiful, tall windows, set high in the wall and filtering in the afternoon sun. The large group, rarely rendered silent in its entirety, stood speechless at the sight of it all. For once, I wasn't the only one not talking. "So," Amy said aloud to no-one in particular, shattering the stillness, "do ya think they have a computer?" Knew it was too good to be true.

Paired into our groups the Class of '06 descended the staircase and crossed the sizeable open area illuminated by rectangles of bright sunlight. This portion of the space contained chairs and tables crafted of a dark wood, interspaced with fragments of boulders and shattered stone architecture. I was at the rear of the group as usual and distant from Nathan, who seemed like a man on a mission the moment he got the assignment. I turned back and looked upward at the balcony I had just descended from. The terrace also supported a large statue on a narrow precipice of carved rock, jutting outward from the surface into the empty air above the reading benches. It was not unusual for the facility to be arranged in this way, most libraries stood beneath the stone gaze of a Chronowl statue, the mysterious species that served as the patron Pokemon of information and memory. In fact, I remember the walnut-wood carving mounted above the door of the Ecruteak library of the same creature. That said, I've never seen one so large, nor so detailed. I realized that I was standing by myself in the center of the quiet section of tables, thanks to my momentary flashback to home. I sigh and, with nowhere else to really go, turned and rejoined the group as it dispersed into the tall rows of shelves. My assigned partner, Nathan, was already occupied with his search of the shelves, the listed assignment in one hand as his eyes flashed from one title to the next with strong focus. He spared no glance to me, his partner, as I took a few steps into the aisle where he stood. I always have the hardest time trying to talk to people, especially people that I don't know anything about. He seems to have this under control on his own, so what's he going to gain by having me there? I found myself locked up, unable to spur my feet into moving further into the canyonlike row. As long as I could remember, I had always been different, separate from the other children at school and the youngsters of Ecruteak City. All those years, I've really felt like I've been invisible in plain sight when it comes to my so-called peers. I…

"Well? What is it?"

I gasped and snapped out of my reverie, again betrayed by my own consuming thoughts. I was suddenly aware of where I stood, at the end of the aisle before Nathan, my hands crossed in front of myself subconsciously. He held a number of books under one arm, a look of disapproval clear on his face. I could muster no words, and merely leaned out of the way against the surface of the shelf, my face sinking towards the floor in embarrassment. It's a feeling I'm all too familiar with. Without another word Nathan strode past me, out of the aisle and turned toward the open, table-strewn atrium. Suddenly weak in the knees I stumbled against the bookshelf as my legs gave way beneath me, and I slumped to the floor. Like so many times before I wished to disappear, to fade into the ground and vanish from this place. I knew I didn't fit here, that I could never belong with these strangers, much less work as closely as their so-called "mission" dictated. I can't believe nobody else seems to realize it. Unable to budge from the spot, I clung to the calming shadow of the shelves until the period ended, and departed for my room only once everyone else had gone. Nobody seemed to notice my absence, least of all my supposed partner.

I made my way as quickly as possible along the hallways toward the dorms. If I have any skills at all, I seem to be able to move without making much noise. Only adds to my "on-mute" personality in the end, but right now I'm counting on it just to get out of there and into somewhere where I can clear my head. I can't believe it happened again, in such a public place, surrounded by these people who don't know anything about me except that I don't talk and am a useless project partner. I hate it when I get into these spontaneous thinking modes, where I completely lose track of where I am and what I'm doing, and end up making a fool of myself half the time when I come out of it. Ducking through the archway that marks the entrance to the hallway housing the girls dorms, I can hear the muffled sounds of the others in their own rooms. Some of them have doors open and music playing, talking and laughing like everything's perfectly normal. Even though I'm fully certain that this saving-the-world business is not something I'm going to be capable of, I'm still sure that I would take it more seriously than these girls seem to be. I'm sure the guys are just as bad. Do they really understand what's at stake here? Who is at stake? Wha…

Again with the spacing out. I look back up and am startled to see what looks like a Houndoom standing near my dorm's door at the far end of the hallway. It's staring right at me. For a moment I stand still, in the middle of the hall, in the shadow between two open doors. The Houndoom is stock still, glaring right into my eyes. As I watch it lowers its head and growls twice into what looks like a cube-like object on its collar, then turns and exits out of the hallway back into the atrium. It hits me. _They were looking for me_. I wasn't where I was supposed to be, and somebody had the patrolling Houndoom track me until I was found. Without anybody else in the Class noticing what was going on. Slowly I get walking again, reach my door, open it and close it behind me.

Well, I guess they're serious about me being here. But, there's no way for this to work, this crazy plan to pull seventeen strangers from three regions and make them work as one. It's just not reasonable. My pulse is pounding and I put my hand to my chest as if it would help slow it down. I barely make it to the bed in the corner as my legs threaten to give on me again. I look up at the ceiling high above, with its single bright fixture.

How did it come to this?


End file.
